So ticks have no engraving

The tick has high-season. Your trick to many more of fear than, say, driving a car – although the Latter is much more dangerous. It's high time, a couple of things to the supposedly "most dangerous animal in Europe".

target ticks on people?
by No means. "The human being is a host for the tick. He finds them almost always, or from scratching them unknowingly, before they can develop further," says Volker Fingerle National reference centre for Borrelia, Germany. A hungry tick seize every opportunity. Wild rodents and other animals, the preferred hosts for local ticks. In Switzerland, around 20 species of Ticks live, the most common is the common wood tick. He's in the undergrowth, forest edges, forest clearings, and near the river.

How many ticks live in the woods and on meadows?
A lot of. "We have found an area of ten by ten meters, up to 400 ticks – and since the are not included in the calculation, we escaped, for example, on the ground," says Volker Fingerle. "In Austria, was found by scientists from a tick density of about 500'000 per hectare." This results in an average of 50 ticks per square meter.

spread ticks?
is to be found in fact, the wood tick, in the meantime, up to an altitude of 1500 to 2000 meters above sea level. Earlier was considered, that he lives up to a maximum of 1000 meters of altitude. "It is unclear, however, if this height increase in relation to disease cases is relevant," Fingerle. "Are the ticks up there just as often with sick Borrelia or the TBE-virus-infected, such as in the deeper layers? We don't know."

ticks transmit more than 20 diseases.

Last year were reported to the Federal office of public health 377 TBE disease, an all-time high. This demonstrates that tick-borne diseases are on the increase?
no. How many tick-borne diseases to be registered, depending on, for example, how many ticks, how many of them carry pathogens in itself, how many people are in the Green on the road and how well the Doctors to detect the tick-borne diseases and report. "The most important factor is the weather," says Volker Fingerle. In 2018, the constant beautiful weather meant that the people were a lot more out there – and the numbers the key point in the disease, says Gerhard Dobler, a microbiologist at the Institute for Microbiology of the Bundeswehr in Munich. In addition, there have been 2018 unusually high number of ticks.

Why was 2018 so a tick is the year?
"Last year, we have counted twice as many ticks as 2017," says Dobler. The reason for the tick-flood: in 2016 the Book were particularly a lot of Buechenüssli. Such a "mast year," offers Wild, mice and other rodents abundant food. As a result, more animals survive, and they also have offspring. This means: better chances for the ticks. Two years after such a "mast year," there is, therefore, more ticks, Dobler and his colleagues found out. You can now say a "Tick" for the next year. "This year, there will be less ticks," says Dobler.

How big is the risk to be as a result of a tick trick sick?
ticks transmit more than 20 diseases. In Switzerland, the are the Lyme disease and TBE (early summer-brain and/or inflammation of the brain). In 2016, Swiss scientists in 18 urban areas examined in a total of about 1000 ticks, among other things, the Basel Margarethe Park, at the Zurich Waidberg and on the Berne Allmend. Around a third of the ticks harbored disease-causing agents: 27 percent wore a Erregerart in, 6 per cent, two -, and 0.65 per cent hosted three different pathogens. Similar findings in rural areas, according to the researchers. Nevertheless, most of the ticks stay stitches without consequences.

How often Lyme disease occurs after a tick bite?
Depending on the area of 5 to 50 percent of the ticks are infected with Borrelia bacteria. These are corkscrew-like spiral bacteria. Of the 1000 tick bites 10 to 50 lead statistically to a Borrelia infection. However, about 99 percent of the people Affected don't notice anything. A maximum of 14 out of 1000 engraved people, the Borrelia can cause a "wall of dawn". This rash is easily recognizable and treated with a suitable antibiotic also good. "There is no Borrelia bacteria that are resistant to the recommended antibiotics," says Fingerle. No more than 3 of 1000 engraved people become ill more severe. The Borrelia-infected joints, the brain, the nerves, the skin or the heart. The antibiotic treatment is lengthy, and in some cases, a longer period of time, there are still complaints.

you Should let a body discovered tick to Borrelia investigate?
no, because you will be smarter. Worldwide, there are over 20 different species of Borrelia – but only six so far known, that can make people sick. The Test-Borrelia, is first open, whether they belong to the "evil" or the harmless. Secondly, only about one percent of the Engraved Contracting Lyme disease. Only in these cases, treatment with Antibiotics is useful. Thirdly, many ticks remain the stitches go unnoticed. The Test showed no Borrelia could be lulled into a false sense of security, when at the same time, not noticed a tick has stung.

liable The longer the tick is, the more likely the Transmission of Borrelia.

How often TBE?
The red-colored map published by the Federal office for the health , suggests a very wide distribution of ticks with TBE-virus. But the fact is, these pathogens occur only in very limited forest areas, which is about as big as a football field. However, have spread to these areas in the last 20 years. Nevertheless, several unfortunate circumstances have to come together, so that it disease, a severe TBE. Because only in such a "Hotspot" will have a maximum of glands 30 of 1000 ticks TBE virus in their saliva. Adopted, exactly in the 66'666 people of ticks to be engraved, then it comes in at about 2000 for TBE infection. At least 1400 of these persons this infection goes unnoticed you have no symptoms. About 200 to 600 a flu get similar disease. An estimated 20 to 90 of the 66'666 engraved persons ill shortly thereafter a second Time, hard. Statistically one of these people dies, are especially at risk Older.

it Is useful to tick-borne diseases be prevented?
Yes. In animal experiments, it took less than 16 to 24 hours, until the Borrelia bacteria from the tick intestine had migrated into the stab wound. How long this period of time when people will take, is unknown. Sure is: The longer the tick is liable, the more likely the Transmission of Borrelia. Therefore, you should remove the tick immediately. TBE virus in the salivary glands of the tick and are transmitted to the stitch quickly. Vaccination against TBE may protect against the disease. However, it is older people who are most at risk, not quite as good as in younger. An Anti-tick walking-Spray on clothing, footwear and skin before the Cross-country and thorough Search after that are also recommended.

Have to offer ticks also interesting?
Quite: Worldwide, there are about 850 species of Ticks, including some with special preferences: "Ixodes awesome" pins about just squirrels. "Amblyomma tuberculatum" is specialized on a turtle in the Eastern United States. Other species of Ticks prefer bats or even snakes, where they attach to the mucosa in the mouth. Up to 40 hours can endure a tick on a blade of Grass, until you need to back on the floor to absorb moisture. Without food for many species of Ticks from even months or years. You finally arrive to the blood sucking ticks females in such a way that you are after up to 120 times heavier. After that, a female, depending on the tick species can lay up to 23'000 eggs. The glacier mummy Ötzi had traces of Borrelia in the body. And in ancient times sucked, crushed ticks were fully allegedly as a sexual enhancer.

This Text is from the current issue. Now all of the articles in the E-Paper of the Sunday newspaper, read: App for iOS App for Android – Web-App (Sunday newspaper)

Created: 20.04.2019, 17:00 Uhr