The beautiful weather in Bavaria lures you outside. But ticks also lurk there – they can transmit Lyme disease. So far this year, however, fewer people have been affected. However, the comparison is somewhat skewed. This is also a consequence of the corona pandemic.
Erlangen (dpa / lby) – By the end of the Whitsun holidays, fewer people in Bavaria had been infected with the tick-borne disease Lyme disease than in previous years. The State Office for Food Safety and Health (LGL) registered 934 people affected by the end of calendar week 24, as the Erlangen authority informed the German Press Agency on request. That’s the second-lowest since 2016. The peak was in 2020, when around 1,300 people contracted Lyme disease during that period.
This also shows a significant increase in Bavaria in the first year of Corona, when the lockdown measures drove many people outdoors. In addition, the weather was warm and dry in many regions at the time, which benefits ticks, as expert Hendrik Wilking from the Robert Koch Institute explained.
The small bloodsuckers can transmit the so-called Lyme disease. The bacteria are found in animals throughout Germany and can cause various diseases of the skin, nerves and joints. In Bavaria, the infection is notifiable.
The small bloodsuckers can transmit the so-called Lyme disease. The bacteria are found in animals throughout Germany and can cause various diseases of the skin, nerves and joints. In contrast to tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), which is also transmitted by ticks, there is no vaccine against Lyme disease. In Bavaria, the infection is notifiable.
According to the figures from the LGL, there have been two clear Lyme disease strongholds in the Free State in the past two years: Lower Bavaria and Middle Franconia. With a total of 2887 or 1662 patients, they accounted for well over a third of the 6257 cases in Bavaria in 2020 and the 3980 cases in 2021 in absolute numbers. In the current year, doctors have already registered high numbers of infections in the Upper Palatinate.
A warning sign of Lyme disease is a ring-shaped reddening that occurs after several days around the puncture site, and you should definitely see a doctor if you see it. Other manifestations of the disease can sometimes only appear after several years. According to experts, what they all have in common is that they can be successfully treated with antibiotics – the earlier, the better.
