Also think about tick protection in the fall

The autumn sun invites you to go for a nice walk, to go hiking or to pick mushrooms. The tick protection should not be forgotten, because the small bloodsuckers are a danger in the fall and can transmit diseases such as Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). The term "early summer" in the disease name "FSME" is misleading. Ticks are not only active in spring and summer, but already at temperatures above 7 degrees - regardless of the season. (1)

28.5 percent of TBE cases in the fall months
According to the Robert Koch Institute, between 2010 and 2014 an average of 28.5 percent of TBE cases were reported in the autumn months of September to November. (2) In the German FSME risk areas between 0.1 and 5 percent of the ticks are infected with TBE viruses. (3) The probability of contracting TBE after a tick bite is approximately 1: 150. (4) A higher degree of infection exists in ticks that have already drawn blood on humans. (5) The risk of contracting FSME exists in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. In Germany, a TBE risk exists mainly in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, southern Hesse and southeastern Thuringia. In addition, there are individual risk areas in Central Hesse, in the Saarland, in Rhineland-Palatinate, and since 2014 also in Saxony. Currently, 145 districts are defined as TBE risk areas. (6)

Ticks are stripped unnoticed in passing
Ticks lurk on blades of grass, in bushes and undergrowth, as well as in forests, city parks and gardens. The arachnids can climb up to a height of 1.50 meters - an ideal height to be stripped unnoticed in passing. (1) This can happen quickly during outdoor activities such as hiking, Nordic walking, jogging, cycling, fishing, horse riding or walking the dog. Likewise for stays in the forest, because in the search for mushrooms, Ess- or horse chestnuts collectors are often away from the paths in the undergrowth and on leafy forest floor on the way. Exactly where many ticks frolic. Ticks can lurk even in the home garden - in hedgerows, shrubs, tall grass or foliage, for example. A study of the University of Hohenheim in Greater Stuttgart has shown that ticks are also widespread in well-tended gardens. (7)

Prevent FSME with a vaccine
Basically autumn outdoor activities include: Wear long and closed clothing to make it difficult for the ticks to come into contact with the skin. Socks should be pulled over the pants. At home, thoroughly scan the body for ticks. If a tick has been stabbed, it should be slowly pulled out or turned with pointed forceps or a pair of ticks. Scouring, closed clothing and similar measures, however, can not fully prevent a tick bite and associated TBE infection. There is no causal treatment for TBE-transmitted TBE. With a vaccine but can be prevented against FSME. (3)

The Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) at the Robert Koch Institute recommends vaccination for individuals who may be exposed to ticks in areas at risk of FSME. Either because they live there or are on short notice, for example on vacation. In addition, the STIKO recommends the vaccination for stays in risk areas outside of Germany. (8) Persons living in risk areas or planning stays and trips to FSME areas in Germany are entitled to a TBE vaccination at the statutory health insurance funds. (8th)

Rapid immunization against TBE in autumn
Even in autumn, it is not too late for a TBE vaccine. If protection against FSME is needed in the short term, there is the possibility of a so-called rapid immunization: depending on the vaccine, the vaccine protection with two or three vaccines can be established within a few weeks. Here the home or pediatrician can advise. (4) The three-vaccine primary immunization campaign against TBE should also start in the autumn to be immunized against TBE at the start of the next season of ticks in the spring. For a multi-year immunization three vaccinations are needed. The first two vaccinations take place at intervals of one to three months, the third - depending on the vaccine - after 5 or 9 to 12 months. (4)

Swell:
(1) Sweet, Jochen (2007): Ticks - What to Know About TBE and Lyme Disease. Kreuzlingen / Munich: Heinrich Hugendubel Verlag.
(2) SurvStat @ RKI 2.0, query on 08.07.2015: TBE fall epidemiology of the years 2010 - 2014 (number of reported cases between September (KW35) and November (KW 48).
(3) RKI Physician Guide (2011): Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE).
(4) German Society of Neurology: S1 Guideline Early Meningeal Encephalitis (TBE), as of: September 2012.
(5) Sweet J, Schrader C, Falk U, Wohanka N: Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in Germany - Epidemiological data, development of risk areas and virus prevalence in field-collected ticks and ticks removed from humans.
(6) Epidemiological Bulletin: FSME: Risk Areas in Germany, 26 May 2015 / No 21, Robert Koch Institute.
(7) University of Hohenheim: Ticks in the garden: Study shows tick activity on off-land. 03/24/2015
(8) Epidemiological Bulletin: Recommendations of the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) at the Robert Koch Institute, August 25, 2014 / No. 34.

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