A tick area describes the region in which ticks occur. In addition, the cards mark whether the ticks are infected with pathogens. In Central Europe, the common wood buck (Ixodes ricinus) is the most widespread species of ticks. In Eastern Europe and Russia, the species Ixodes persulcatus predominantly occurs. Read all about the tick areas of Germany here.
Tick area Germany
There are ticks everywhere in Germany. The small bloodsuckers prefer to live in the high grass, scrub and undergrowth – widespread shelters. Not all ticks carry pathogens. The most important are Borrelia and TBE viruses:
Ticks that have Borrelia (borreliosis) are found throughout Germany. Estimates suggest that about 30 percent of all ticks are infected with these bacteria. Because Borrelia-bearing ticks occur everywhere in Germany, there is no tick card for this purpose.
The situation is different with ticks that carry TBE viruses (causative agent of tick-borne encephalitis). They have their own tick cards, because they do not colonize all ticks. Germany is home to TBE-bearing ticks, especially in the south. In this context, one also speaks of an endemic area. This is a limited region where a pathogen is permanent and can not be removed. In southern Germany, up to five percent of all ticks carry the TBE viruses. According to the Robert Koch Institute, the following states are currently affected by TBE-bearing ticks:
- Baden-Württemberg (almost complete)
- Bavaria (almost complete)
- Hesse (especially the southern part)
- Thuringia (especially the south-eastern part)
- Things (especially border areas to Bavaria)
- Rhineland-Palatinate (isolated)
- Saarland (isolated)
- Lower Saxony (isolated)
Having a tick bite in one of these regions increases the risk of FSME. How exactly it varies varies: In the different regions different numbers of ticks are infected with the viruses.
Caution: Even outside these regions, you can get infected with TBE viruses via a tick bite, albeit rarely. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin occurred in 2018 isolated cases of illnesses.
Study ticks before traveling!
If you are planning a trip to the area in the summer months, and you are also spending a lot of time in nature, you should first visit the ticks areas to assess the risk of infection. In parts of Russia, for example, 50 to 100 percent of all ticks are infected with TBE viruses.