No TBE case was sent to the Robert Koch Institute from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania last year. In the 1960s the situation was very different.
Berlin/Schwerin (dpa/mv) - In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, not a single case of a tick-borne encephalitis TBE was reported in 2022. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced this in a current report on Friday. TBE stands for tick-borne encephalitis. The majority of infections with the virus are symptomless. The risk of serious illness is significantly increased in people over 60 years of age.
According to the RKI report, 546 TBE diseases were reported in 2022, 30 percent more than in the previous year. In 461 cases it was certain that the place of infection could only have been Germany. Almost 180 districts nationwide are designated as risk areas, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania there is none.
“Individual cases also occur outside of these risk areas in northern and western regions of Germany,” writes the RKI. "In the 1960s, TBE infections also increased in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg, for example." While Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has only had isolated cases in recent years, there have been three risk areas in Brandenburg since 2022.
Tick bites are usually given as a possible source of infection. Those affected did not always notice the sting. According to the report, transmission is also possible through raw milk, but this is rare. The RKI writes that the TBE vaccination offers the most reliable protection.
Since TBE viruses get into people at the beginning of the act of sucking, they have to be removed immediately and the wound disinfected. Searching the body later and pulling out ticks protect little. "Tick bites can be prevented in part by protective measures such as wearing closed clothing, avoiding undergrowth and tall grass, and staying on fixed paths."
Ticks can also transmit the causative agent of Lyme disease, which often occurs hours after the act of sucking. According to the RKI, it is much more common and occurs throughout Germany. The first symptom is often an increasing redness around the puncture site, later nerves, joints and heart can be affected by the bacteria.
