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Experts warn: This summer, there are mostly a lot of ticks and mosquitoes. And therefore also a higher risk of infection for TBE and Lyme disease.
"We will have the highest number of ticks in the last ten years," warned Gerhard Dobler of the German Infection Research Center (DZIF). at the Institute of Microbiology of the German Armed Forces in Munich the spread and activity of TBE virus in Germany. Ticks are a major contributor to tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), a viral meningitis.
The experts have developed a model that will allow them to predict the density of ticks in the coming winter. The base is the number of minors in an infection center in southern Germany. According to Dobler, the risk is "particularly high" this year.
In addition to TBE, the common male can also transmit Lyme disease. Although there is a preventive vaccine against TBE, there is no vaccine available for Lyme disease. However, infections can be treated with antibiotics.
TBE Risk Zones
Experts advise ticks to be particularly critical in TBE risk areas. According to the Robert Koch Institute, the areas at risk of FSME are almost all Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg (Ravensburg District), as well as parts of Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Thuringia, Saxony (the counties Vogtland, Bautzen, Zwickau and Erzgebirge). And also areas in the Saarland.
Variety of ticks for a higher risk of TBE
"Summer temperatures and precipitation in recent weeks have led to ideal conditions for ticks "Württemberg State Health Office with. The animals were therefore more active and would have increased more. It has also increased the number of ticks carrying the TBE virus and the risk of developing tick-borne encephalitis (TBE).
In the first half of 2018, for example, 99 cases of TBE have already been reported in Baden-Württemberg in the same period last year, it was only 81.
Scanning bodies immediately after being outdoors
The sooner a tick is removed, the lower the risk of contracting it. Therefore, the body should be thoroughly searched in the summer after an outdoor stay. The German Infection Research Center, which predicts a "tick year", advises
to vaccinate or not?
TBE virus is the causative agent of tick-borne encephalitis and can transmit a form of meningitis. As a precaution, you can get vaccinated against the TBE virus – which is not possible against Lyme disease, for example.
Even special sprays or creams protect against ticks. However, at the latest after three hours, the remedy must be applied again to all uncovered skin areas. Long pants and long-sleeved clothes provide natural protection.
Stiftung Warentest (05/2017) rated the product "Anti Brumm Forte" as "very good" in the category "Effectiveness against mosquitoes and ticks". The hypoallergenic pump spray dermatologically tested is suitable for both adults and children over three years of age and recommended by the Swiss Tropical Institute.
Lyme disease also caused by mosquitoes
Not only ticks but also domestic mosquitoes can carry the pathogens of Lyme disease. : Scientists at the Senckenberg Institute in Frankfurt emphasize this potential risk, until now little known.
Mosquitoes are generally perceived only as parasites, causing annoying stings. Meanwhile, more and more dangerous dangerous mosquito species can be detected in Germany. For example, the Asian tiger mosquito, which is considered the main transmitter of dengue fever
Now, mosquitoes have been identified in various parts of the federal territory that carry the pathogens of Lyme disease; which is estimated to infect 40,000 people each year in Germany.
Lyme Disease
The clinical picture can be subdivided into three stages: In the first, a wandering red spreads annularly around the puncture. In the second stage, the bacteria spread through the body and can penetrate the nervous system, joints or heart. The disease can become chronic (third stage). This is manifested for example in cutaneous lesions or joint degenerations.
The disease can lead to death. However, it is not dangerous if you recognize it early.
Appearance: about 60,000 to 80,000 new cases in Germany per year
Weather favors mosquitoes
The many weeks of drought have not disturbed the pests, says Doreen Walther, mosquito expert In the region. Leibniz Center for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) in Müncheberg (Brandenburg). "Even though it did not rain much, the rain barrels, the flower trays and even the ponds or the soil of the fields are not dried up. According to their studies, the spring midge, which has wintered in basements or attics, is now complete.
The biting midges are already buzzing. third or fourth generation of the year, says the biologist. The Brandenburgers and Berliners are far from being as troubled by aggressive insects as the Bavarians, Baden-Württemberg, Saxony or Thuringia.
"There was a lot more rainfall and sometimes even flooding – a paradise for mosquitoes," says the scientist
The number of entries for the mosquito atlas also shows that There are currently many mosquitoes. "We have already received a good thousand entries this year with about 3,500 animals," says mosquito expert. The portal provides information on the distribution of native mosquito species as well as invasive alien species, hence "migratory".
The immigrant species come from the south of Germany. "We have received new copies of the tiger mosquito from Thuringia and Hesse Asia". This tropical species is indeed considered not frost-resistant, but has survived the past, with severe winter looking good.
In mid-July, we will have to live with mosquito attack in all cases. How the population grows after that can not be predicted yet. "Farther than meteorologists, we can not look forward, if the summer remains hot and humid, it encourages the hatching of more specimens.We have to wait and see," Walther explains. [19659032] (function (d, s, id) {
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