As warmer days arrive, beware of tick bites!
A guide to ticks, risks and prevention, to help you enjoy the great outdoors safely.
For many of us, warmer days bring outdoor pursuits, such as hiking, biking and so much more. They also signal the return of little parasitic mites called ticks, whose bites can have severe consequences for our health through the transmission of various infectious agents. The most common infections caused by tick bites are Lyme disease* (Lyme Borreliosis), generally treatable with antibiotics, and tick-borne encephalitis** (TBE), which is rarer than Lyme disease with 5000 to 13 000 cases reported globally each year. Although there is no vaccine against Lyme disease, one does exist against TBE and it is recommended for anyone residing in or travelling to areas where the disease is prevalent. In Europe, the TBE vaccination is recommended in Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and Western Russia.
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