Spring has come early and with warmer days, so have the ticks and the chances of being bitten when out and about. Ticks are little parasitic mites, 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.

Find out more about ticks, vaccination possibilities, how to protect yourself and what to do if you are bitten by a tick on the dedicated Medical Service webpage: https://hse.cern/ticks