Tick ​​bites cause hundreds of Lyme disease cases

Active bloodsuckers: Tick bites lead to hundreds of Lyme disease cases

09/08/2014

Ticks were unusually early this year because of the mild winter. Hundreds of cases of borreliosis have already been reported from Brandenburg and other federal states. A vaccine against the bacterial infectious disease does not exist.

Ticks are active early because of mild winter
Since the beginning of the year, 773 cases of borreliosis have been reported in Brandenburg. According to a dpa report, the Ministry of Health informed that it was difficult to predict whether the number would be particularly high by the end of the year. There were 1,571 registered cases of Lyme disease in the past year and 898 in the year 2012. For the comparative period from January to the end of July 2013 there were no comparable figures. Winter was particularly mild this year. According to the health authorities, the ticks were therefore unusually early active.

No vaccine against Lyme Disease available
The pathogens of bacterial infectious disease, the Borrelia, enter the body via a tick bite. There, among other things, they can trigger joint, heart muscle and nerve inflammation. Other symptoms that may indicate Lyme disease include flu-like symptoms such as fever, muscle and joint pain, tiredness and headache. A characteristic sign is the Erythema migrans, which, however, only about half of the patients have. There is no vaccine against Lyme disease, usually the disease is treated with antibiotics.

Hundreds of Lyme disease cases in other federal states
The number of cases reported so far in Brandenburg was highest at 83 in the district of Märkisch-Oderland, followed by the rural districts of Oberhavel (82) and Barnim (79). According to the Ministry, the city of Frankfurt (Oder) was the least affected with eight and the Elbe-Elster district with nine cases. Last year, in the Oberhavel district with 156 registrations, most people in the country were ill with tick bites. The authorities have reported 442 infections from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and 546 from Rhineland-Palatinate.

Vaccination against TBE
According to the Brandenburg Ministry of Health, the tick-borne tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has occurred so far. In 2013, four cases of this type of meningitis were reported in 2012 and two in 2012. Unlike districts in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, as well as in southern Hesse and Thuringia, Brandenburg is not a risk area for FSME. In contrast to Lyme disease, however, you can get vaccinated against FSME. Lyme disease is better treatable. The Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) of the Robert Koch Institute advises all persons who could come in contact with ticks in the risk areas. (Ad)