Ticks hide on football fields

Despite the World Cup in Germany, the football fever is not over. But on the ground caution is announced – there is an unpleasant adversary: ​​the tick. As part of a national survey commissioned by the Pfizer pharmaceutical company, 32 football fields were examined about ticks. Here are the results:

Leader is by far North Rhine-Westphalia (193 ticks over 120 m²), followed by Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (99 ticks) and Schleswig-Holstein (88 ticks), ranked midfield Hesse (45 ticks), At the bottom of the investigation are the cities of Bremen and Berlin – no ticks were found on the football fields.

Parasites feel at home not only in the forest, but also in municipal parks, private gardens and football fields. Biologically, they belong to the arachnids. "The results of the survey clearly show that ticks can occur in surprisingly high densities, both in sports facilities and in the immediate vicinity of football fields," says specialist ticks. (aD) Dr. med. Jochen Süss

Tick can transmit Lyme disease and TBE viruses

There are about 50,000 sports fields throughout Germany, many of which are surrounded by tall grbad and bushes. And right here, the tick is waiting for its host. Because contrary to the misconception that ticks fall from trees, pests can climb up to 1.5 feet tall. People often go unnoticed by pbading over grbades or bushes.

The animals found in the study are mainly ticks of the genus Ixodes, which also includes the common male (Ixodes ricinus). This species is the most common type of tick in Germany and can transmit pathogens such as Lyme Bacteria and the virus Early Summer Meningoencephalitis (TBE) . "A tick bite can strike anyone who likes to go outside, so not only the players themselves, but also visitors and employees of sports clubs who are at risk of tick bites," explains Süss. How to protect against ticks

Good tick prevention is essential. The TBE virus continues to spread in Germany. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) currently has 156 TBE risk zones. Especially in southern Germany, Saxony, southern Hesse and Thuringia, there is a risk of TBE infection. There are also individual TBE risk zones in central Hesse, Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate. But even outside of these, ticks can have the TBE virus and be transmitted to humans during an injection.

The fact that a tick bite is not safe has already had to be experienced by some important players in the Bundesliga. In severe cases, the TBE virus can attack the meninges and the central nervous system of man and cause serious long-term consequences such as disorders of consciousness, speech and swallowing. To prevent spectators and players from enjoying football without worry, tick bites should be avoided as much as possible, for example by the following precautionary measures:

• wear shiny clothing as long as possible
• Scanning outdoors

A vaccination may also help reduce the risk of TBE infection after a tick bite. Ask your doctor for a TBE vaccine.

Results of the survey

Between April 12, 2018 and May 18, 2018, 32 football fields were the subject of a national survey – two places by state –

Clbadic marking method, in which a flannel cloth is pulled over the ground level vegetation or leaf litter. Active ticks scratch in contact with the underside of the flag and can then be counted and collected. A total of twelve flags trains were staged by soccer field on the soccer field and in the immediate vicinity of the football field, so that a total of 120 square meters were checked for ticks. In this survey, only the number of ticks was evaluated. It has not been investigated whether ticks found are infected with pathogens such as TBE or Borrelia.

Definition of tick density

• Very low density of ticks: 1-3 ticks per 100 m² (4 cases) • Low tick density: 4-10 ticks per 100 m² ( 6 cases)
• Moderate high density of ticks: 11-24 ticks per 100 m² (7 cases)
• High density of ticks: 25-50 ticks per 100 m² (9 cases)
• Density of Very high ticks:> 50 ticks per 100 m² (3 boxes)