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Human Interest
Friday, July 20, 2018
/ dpa
Berlin – The number of infections at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is higher after diseases caused by bites of ticks during the same period in 2017. "The tick season started earlier, but the numbers of the infection are still in the usual range," says Susanne Glasmacher, spokesperson for RKI
Since the end of June (26th to 29th week), 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 previous year (21).
Common Variations
In the case of FSME, 120 infections were reported, mainly in late June (26th to 28th week) south of 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 (2006) and a low of 195 (2012).
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In Germany, there is a risk of TBE infection, especially in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, in southern Hesse and in the south-east of 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 in case of viral infection.
2018 is a tick year for the German Infection Research Center (DZFI). "We will have the greatest number of ticks in the last ten years," said expert Gerhard Dobler in late June after the 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 tick bears Borrelioseerreger – regardless of the region.
The German Red Cross advises to wear bright clothing on walks and hikes, on which we can see the ticks. They are often sitting in bushes, on shrubs or grbades. "However, panic is certainly not appropriate," says Peter Sefrin, DRC doctor. 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 easy to remove with ticking tongs and cards.
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