High season for ticks – increased risk of infection – dpa

B erlin (dpa) – The summer weather, always friendly, increases the risk of tick bites. For more people in shorts and sleeveless shirts in nature, the greater the chance of small parasites on a blood meal.

"The tick season started earlier, but the numbers of infection are still in the usual range," said RKI spokeswoman Susanne Glasmacher. The eight-legged arachnids can transmit diseases such as Lyme disease or tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). At the Robert Koch Institute, infection rates in the last weeks of summer are higher than at the same time in 2017.

Since the end of June (26th at week 29), 1292 Lyme infections were reported to RKI. In 2017, there were 920 during the same period, but the bacterial infection, which can be treated with antibiotics, is not reportable in all federal states. Data are available for the RKI of East Germany as well as for Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. Just from Berlin, 27 borreliosis were reported this week – also more than the year before (21).

Since the end of June (26th to 28th week) there have been 120 infections reported in FSMEs, mainly from southern Germany. In 2017, there were 89 cases during the same period. However, the numbers fluctuated strongly anyway, said Glasmacher. In 2017, a total of 485 TBE cases were transmitted. This represents a 40% increase over the previous year (348). However, the annual number of cases has fluctuated since 2001 between a maximum of 546 reports in 2006 and a low of 195 in 2012.

In Germany, there is a risk of TBE infection, especially in Bavaria and in the Baden-Württemberg, in southern Hesse and in southeastern Thuringia. Individual risk areas are also located in central Hesse, Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate. In 2014, Saxony joined the Vogtlandkreis. In 2018, ten additional risk zones were identified in Saxony, Thuringia and Bavaria – currently there are a total of 156 counties. There is a vaccine against TBE. The subsequent treatment is difficult for the viral infection.

For the German Infection Research Center (DZFI) 2018 is a year of ticks. "We will have the greatest number of ticks in the last ten years," said expert Gerhard Dobler at the end of June after model calculations. Thus, there is also a higher risk of contracting meningitis or Lyme disease. However, not all animals carry the pathogens themselves. DZFI researchers estimate that about one out of every four ticks carries pathogens of borreliosis – regardless of region.

The German Red Cross advises wearing bright clothing during walks and hikes, where ticks are easily visible. They are often sitting in bushes, on shrubs or grbades. "Panic is certainly not appropriate," says DRC doctor Peter Sefrin. Long pants and long-sleeved shirts are particularly suitable for prevention. And after a trip to nature on home returns, a critical look at the folds of the skin, the hairy body parts as well as in the armpits and knees is advised. Ticks were easily removed with tick forceps and cards.