Vaccination protects!

TBE risk: A tick bite can change your life

Ticks are annoying and dangerous.

(Bild: Smileus/stock.adobe.com)

The warm winter allows many ticks to be active: there is a risk of TBE after a tick bite!

Children who spend a lot of time romping around in meadows and woods are checked for ticks in the evening as standard. If necessary, the arachnid is removed - with tweezers and in a straight line, not in a twist as was once often propagated.

Only symptoms can be alleviated
This is how many Carinthians know how to deal with ticks. But these small animals can also change people's lives - to their detriment. "If TBE breaks out after a tick bite, it cannot be treated. Only the symptoms can be alleviated," says health officer Beate Prettner. Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) attacks the brain substance and can cause paralysis.

Last year, 104 people aged between 3 and 84 had to be treated in hospitals in Austria for TBE, more than 60 percent of whom suffered severe neurological disorders.

"The only reliable protection is vaccination," says Prettner. The province of Carinthia is therefore once again offering a vaccination campaign: Adults can get the TBE vaccination at the health authorities for 32 euros and children for 27 euros.