Health authority provides information about tick bites and TBE vaccination
Tips for preventive healthcare - not just for travellers in risk areas
Summertime and holiday time - who thinks of such unpleasant things as tick bites first? This is precisely why the city's public health department is now taking up the issue and is not only promoting awareness among travellers to so-called TBE risk areas when preparing for their trip, but also for the possibility of prevention through vaccination. As soon as it gets warm, ticks become active and remain so until autumn. Their bites are not only unpleasant, they can also be dangerous. Ticks prefer to live in tall grass, bushes and loose leaves, on the edges of woods, clearings and streams. When walking through, for example, you brush them off with your legs and they can then attach themselves to your skin. In order to become active, ticks need temperatures above 10 °C and a high humidity of over 80 per cent. Therefore, parks and forests are not the only ideal biotopes for ticks. According to experts, the home garden is completely underestimated as a tick reservoir and therefore also the meadow, for example, as a risk area. The best protection against an infection with ticks remains the avoidance of tick bites. Dr Harald Uerlings, head of the public health department, recommends: "After spending time outdoors, for example in parks and forests or in the meadow, the body should be carefully searched for ticks, especially in children. Carers in daycare centres should also check for ticks after spending time outdoors and remove them or have them removed as soon as possible. "
In and of itself, a tick bite is not a bad thing and many people don't even realise when one of the little vampires is feasting on their blood. Thanks to an anaesthetic substance in the saliva, a tick bite is painless. However, it becomes dangerous when the bloodsuckers transfer pathogens into the wound when they bite. Ticks may harbour several species of these. Following the high number of TBE cases in the risk areas last year, holidaymakers travelling to these areas should therefore consider getting vaccinated. People who have not yet been vaccinated can build up robust protection within a short period of time: two vaccinations at two-week intervals. Three vaccinations are necessary for lasting protection, the third after one year. Incomplete vaccination series from the past can also be taken into account to build up protection. Scientific studies show that every vaccination counts and that it is possible to build on vaccinations from many years ago. The Saxon Vaccination Commission recommends the TBE vaccination for people who live in TBE risk areas (Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Thuringia) as well as those who are at risk of TBE at work, for example forestry workers in risk areas or laboratory staff.
A good way to integrate checking for ticks into your normal daily routine is to keep a close eye on your body during or after an evening shower. In this way, ticks can often be removed before they have attached themselves. If ticks have already attached themselves, they should be pulled out quickly. Special tick cards or tweezers are available for this purpose. Under no circumstances should grease, oil or glue be used to prevent the tick from breathing and increase the risk of the tick introducing pathogens into the bite wound in its fight for survival. Ticks prefer thin-skinned, moist areas of the body (back of the knee, groin, armpit, hairline) and usually spend several hours travelling along the body until they have found a spot that they prefer to bite. The risk of tick infestation can be significantly reduced by wearing clothing that covers as much of the skin as possible (long trousers with cuffs that can be tucked into socks, long-sleeved shirts and sturdy shoes). Light-coloured clothing allows migrating ticks to be spotted quickly, and the use of insect repellents and tick repellents is also recommended - there are also products especially suitable for children.
The majority of German citizens - according to statistics, this is one in three - travel within their own country or to neighbouring countries, such as Austria, and may therefore spend their holiday in TBE risk areas. In recent years, over eight per cent of German citizens' travel destinations have been in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg and therefore in TBE risk areas. Austria, the heartland of the TBE virus spread in Europe, is one of the most popular holiday destinations for Germans. Travellers to these areas should contact their family doctor in order to obtain the appropriate vaccination.
Contact and contact person at the public health department: The contact person for advice on the subject of ticks and the risk areas is the travel medicine advice service of the public health department of the city of Chemnitz, Am Rathaus 8, 09111 Chemnitz, call 0371/488-5333. Information material on the subject is also available from the public health department.