2018 will be a tick year | City Health Berlin

This summer, there will be a particularly high number of ticks and therefore a higher risk of developing tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) or Lyme disease. Both diseases are transmitted by ticks. Scientists at the German Infection Research Center (DZIF) predict a "tick year".

Since 2009, a DZIF team has been researching Dr. DZIF. Gerhard Dobler at the Institute of Microbiology of the German Armed Forces spread and activity of TBE virus in Germany. They have developed a model that will allow them to predict the density of ticks already in winter for next summer.

Even lumberjack nymphs can transmit pathogens

In nine years, researchers have documented the number of ticks at a source of infection in southern Germany. For this, they collected the common lumberjack nymphs monthly – a stage of tick development before adulthood.

Less than a millimeter, these juveniles are only recognizable as blackheads and are often overlooked. This makes them particularly dangerous, he says in a press release. Because even at this stage of their development, they can transmit Borrelia or TBE virus during bleeding.

2018 will be a year of ticks

"This year the risk is quite high," Dr. Dobler. Because in the year 2018, there will be the greatest number of ticks in the last ten years. Scientists were able to show that the source of infection selected in southern Germany was a model character.

Colleagues at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna were able to develop a model that prepares ticks in the summer using model tick data and specific environmental parameters. , The model includes the number of beechnuts two years before the current summer and the average annual temperature and winter temperature of the previous year.

The more hay there is, the more ticks there are

More than two years ago The summer gives, the more wild and rodents have food and serve as the bearer of ticks, which then also appear more. Dobler and his colleagues have already confirmed the connections: for the summer of 2017, they had predicted 187 ticks per standardized zone and found 180 ticks. Almost one point of landing

The largest number of ticks ever found was planned for 2018 with 443 ticks – and this prediction will also be fulfilled. "We have the highest number of ticks collected since the beginning of the study – good for ticks, bad for us." More ticks are badociated with an increased risk of disease.

One in four ticks have Lyme disease

Lyme disease can be transmitted by ticks in Germany and can be found in about four ticks – regardless of region. Here, only vigilance for forest walks and open-air stays helps to avoid it. The faster the tick is removed, the lower the risk of Lyme disease.

To prevent the risk of TBE meningitis, one can and one must be vaccinated, so the attractiveness of scientists. Especially in southern Germany, where the density of ticks infected with the virus is higher. Regions belonging to risk areas can be found on the website of the Robert Koch Institute.

Photography: mirkograul / fotolia.com