Climate change could boost tick population – Southwest



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Wherever you listen, there is talk of an extreme summer of ticking The southern bath is considered a risk area for tick-borne diseases.


Wherever you hear, there is talk of an extreme tick summer. Südbaden is considered a risk area for tick-borne diseases. Is it just scary or legitimate concern?


Ticks become particularly active as soon as it's hot. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), they can be found almost everywhere, where there are plants, even in gardens or parks. And there they wait – a tick does not move more than a meter or two in all its life – to an animal or to a human being, where they can bite. As blood is drawn out of the body, ticks release some of their saliva. And so get pathogens into the body of the man. Ticks found in Europe primarily transmit two diseases, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and Lyme borreliosis.

Neurologist advises everyone to use the TBE vaccine

More dangerous is the TBE, says Sebastian Rauer, neurologist at the University Hospital Freiburg, but you could protect against just – namely with the TBE vaccine, which is falsely called the tick vaccine. But that's exactly where the dog lies buried: What was mostly forest workers and farmers, now there is uncertainty as to who should be vaccinated. For Rauer there is no discussion: "Anyone who does not travel exclusively on paved roads or in the apartment, should be vaccinated," said the doctor.

Unlike Lyme disease, TBE is to be notified. gives: During the past year, laboratories reported more than 500 cases in Germany. A mild TBE infection is similar to the symptoms of an influenza such as fever, headache and vertigo. Since TBE, like all other viruses, does not require any drug treatment, the disease should be sorted, so to speak. The acute phase lasts between two and three weeks, says Rauer. However, in one-third of all patients, it could also result in serious long-term injury. Patients may be paralyzed permanently or dependent on a ventilator. Cognitive and coordination skills are also often affected. In about one percent of all infected people the disease ends fatally.

Significantly more ticks transmit Lyme disease. Experts support up to 80,000 cases per year in Germany. According to RKI, there is no course of uniform illness. Lyme disease can cause many forms of disease in different organs, each with typical symptoms, which can occur individually or in different combinations. Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics – during the course of treatment has prevailed in the past, however, in professional circles of disagreement. The conflict even went as far as the Berlin District Court

Rauer was able to collaborate with a number of experts in research on the S3 directive published by the German Society of Neurology in April, a guideline for physicians that reflects the current state of scientific medicine confirm that three weeks of antibiotics are usually sufficient to reliably fight against Lyme disease. The current guideline also shows that there is often no borreliosis behind the alleged long-term consequences, so the diagnosis of "chronic borreliosis" is often erroneous.

Climate change can affect the tick population

Why is 2018 a year? The density of ticks depends on several factors, says Stefan Bosch, specialist in bird watching and bird protection at Nabu-Landesverband Baden-Württemberg. In particular, the time and density of small mammals play an important role. Even the faience mast must be taken into account: studies show that two years after a sickle year – as was the case in 2016 – there are still many ticks. Bucheckern are the favorite food of small mammals such as mice, which therefore proliferate in Bucheckernmastjahren. These in turn stimulate tick reproduction, as they have an increased chance of sucking blood, which makes them sexually mature. "There are indications that climate change could increase the tick population and that we will have to rely more and more on ticks in the future," says Bosch.

But panic was not appropriate, but knowledge, caution and prevention. For the walk in the woods, experts advise you to wear long and light clothes that can see ticks quickly. When you walk in the grass, it is recommended to put the hem of the pants in your socks. And it is especially important to look for ticks in the body after a holiday in the country. Small critters do not sting right away, but generally look for a favorable place

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