Nasty bloodsuckers active

Mild temperatures lure ticks out of hibernation

Just sitting in the grass and relaxing is enough to bite a tick.

(Bild: Risto Hunt [e-mail])

(Bild: zVg)

(Bild: Honorar)

(Bild: Barmherzige Brüder)

Nasty bloodsuckers are already in season. There are already the first cases of TBE in Austria. Experts are therefore urging people to get vaccinated.

We don't even know what a really freezing winter can feel like anymore," says Johannes Gepp, President of the Styrian Nature Conservation Association. And the mild temperatures, as we are experiencing right now, naturally also have an effect on the flora and fauna. The ticks, for example, which otherwise had a winter break in the cold, are active.

Dog owners have already recognized this, "recently in Leibnitz, ten of the fully sucked crawlers had to be stolen by a four-legged friend," says Gepp about a feedback to him. We humans should also be more careful again - in Germany, for example, 24 people fell ill with TBE in January (!). "We've already had one case in Upper Austria," says Gepp.

(Bild: Honorar)

Especially as many people are lulled into a false sense of security: "85% of Styrians have been vaccinated at some point," says Gerhard Kobinger, Vice President of the Chamber of Pharmacists. "But at most 60 of them are actually sufficiently protected." The major vaccination campaign has already started as of February 1; there is no rush. Kobinger: "Since the pandemic, vaccination fatigue and scepticism has risen massively. While the proportion of those against vaccination was three to five percent before, the number of skeptics has now risen to almost a third." The country's vaccination campaign, in which the cost of the jab is 20 percent below the normal price, will last until August 31.

After the pandemic, there has been a noticeable vaccination fatigue and skepticism. 85 percent of Styrians have been vaccinated against TBE, but at most 60 percent of them have full protection.

Gerhard Kobinger, Vizepräsident der österr. Apothekerkammer

Sting does not protect against Lyme disease
The vaccination "only" protects against tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), but not against Lyme disease, which is also feared because the symptoms can be diffuse (a red ring around the bite site is typical, but not mandatory) and can resemble those of a summer flu - but the symptoms often only appear years later and can be difficult to diagnose. In suspected cases, see a doctor immediately, antibiotics help.

Size comparison: ticks, as they are native to our country, and the giant tropical tick Hyalomma; this one was discovered in Upper Austria.

(Bild: zVg)

Many people are lulled into a false sense of security because they are hardly ever out and about in the forest; the bloodthirsty creatures are also lurking at foot or knee height, often on blades of grass, where they can be brushed off their victims, from hedgehogs to humans. There are 17 native ticks, the best known of which are the common wood tick and the alluvial forest tick. And a new, huge one, the Hyalomma, is becoming more and more of a problem.

Gepp: "It was introduced from Africa and is now coming to us with tourists and migratory birds. So far it has not transmitted any diseases. It will become a problem if it is able to overwinter here due to the mild season." The comparatively huge animal doesn't just lurk, it actually runs after its victims. Gepp: "No sprints, of course, but on people who linger on tree trunks or have a picnic in the grass, they can get half a meter pretty quickly."

Ticks should be pulled straight out with tweezers after a bite.