No fear of ticks

Ticks, also known as wood ticks, prefer to live in undergrowth, on forest edges or paths with shrubs and grass as well as in hedges and high meadows. They sit on low-growing plants (up to a maximum of 80 centimetres) and wait for a host to strip them off. For ticks to develop, they need three blood meals in their lifetime. Ticks do not bite, they pierce the skin of animals or humans with their proboscis and suck themselves full for several days until they are round as a ball and drop to the ground. As the tick releases an anaesthetic substance, the process is painless and usually goes unnoticed.

Weather plays a role

The habitat of ticks in Switzerland has expanded over the last 20 years. Professor Jürg Grunder, Head of the Phytomedicine Research Unit at the ZHAW Wädenswil and developer of the new «Tick» app, explains: «While ticks used to be found on the Central Plateau up to around 900 metres above sea level, they are now also found in higher regions up to around 1700 metres above sea level.» Global warming is responsible for this. Because the population is now more sensitised to tick bites, visits to the doctor are more frequent. The possibilities of detecting tick-borne pathogens in the blood have also improved. According to Jürg Grunder, whether ticks become a problem for humans depends primarily on the weather in the warmer months: «If it is often nice and warm, more people spend time outdoors and are therefore exposed to ticks. If it is rather cloudy and rainy, people prefer to stay at home. It's when lots of people are out and about that the most tick bites are recorded.»

Ticks can transmit a virus or a bacterium - with serious consequences.

Small sting - potentially high damage

Ticks are so feared because some of them can transmit a bacterium (responsible for Lyme disease) or a virus (responsible for tick-borne encephalitis TBE) to the host - in both cases, serious consequences are possible. In recent years, an average of between 110 and 250 people have contracted TBE in Switzerland. In the first phase, around 7 to 14 days after the tick bite, flu-like symptoms (headache, fever, tiredness, aching limbs) can occur. In 5 to 15 per cent of those affected, the central nervous system is affected in the second phase. This leads to meningitis or encephalitis. This disease can lead to paralysis and other disabilities (such as mental retardation) in 20 to 30 per cent of patients. However, deaths are extremely rare.

Measures to protect against Lyme borreliosis

In contrast to tick-borne encephalitis, there is still no vaccination against Lyme disease. In 2014, around 20,000 people in Switzerland consulted a doctor because of tick bites. Around 100 people were infected by the tick-borne encephalitis virus and around 9,000 people were infected by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which is responsible for Lyme borreliosis. If Lyme borreliosis is recognised in time, it can be treated with antibiotics. The first sign of the disease is often a localised inflammation of the skin, also known as erythema. Dr Norbert Satz, a specialist in tick-borne diseases, explains: «The redness increases in size centrally around the site of the bite.» This is often accompanied by flu-like symptoms. In the second phase, the joints, nervous system, skin, muscles and, in rare cases, the heart can be affected. If the disease is not recognised and treated with antibiotics, chronic damage is possible.

Infection with TBE

Ticks that cause TBE are found in certain regions of Switzerland, especially in German-speaking Switzerland. Ticks infected with the bacterium responsible for Lyme borreliosis can be found in all forests in Switzerland. «On average, every third tick is infested. However, there are big regional differences,» says Norbert Satz. He recommends that parents check their children's bodies for small whitish to skin-coloured ticks in the nymph stage, which are only 0.5 to 1 millimetre in size, and check their clothing after spending time in the forest. Rubbing the skin after showering is also effective. Ticks favour warm, moist and thin areas of skin: back of the knees, inner thighs, groin, neck, nape of the neck and armpits. In children, the little animals can also hide in the hair.

It is important to remove the tick quickly; if necessary, you can simply scratch it off with your fingernails.

Rapid removal is key

Ticks are best removed without pre-treatment using pointed tweezers by grasping directly above the skin and pulling continuously straight upwards without twisting. It is important to remove them as quickly as possible. Norbert says: «Every minute the tick sucks blood, more pathogens are transmitted.» What should you do if you discover a tick on your skin in the forest and don't have any tweezers with you? In this case, the expert advises removing the parasite with sharp fingernails or simply scratching it off. The stinging apparatus often remains in the wound, but this is not dangerous and can at most lead to a harmless local skin reaction. It is crucial that the body is removed - the proboscis, on the other hand, dissolves by itself. The puncture site should be disinfected and observed for a few days. The site can be marked with a pen so that it can still be found after some time. The bite can also be registered in the new tick app (see text box below). The integrated tick diary provides information and reminds you in good time to carry out the necessary checks at the site of the bite. If symptoms occur, a visit to the doctor is recommended.

Sensible prevention

To protect yourself from ticks, which usually wait for a potential host at a height of 20 to 30 centimetres from the ground, it is best to wear long trousers tucked into your socks and closed shoes in the forest. Tick sprays can be applied as an additional measure. However, according to Norbert Satz, they are not effective on their own.

The TBE vaccination

The Federal Office of Public Health FOPH recommends the TBE vaccination for all adults and children (generally from the age of 6) throughout Switzerland. Vaccination is generally not recommended for children under the age of 6, as serious illnesses are rare in this age group. Three injections are necessary for optimum vaccination protection. A booster vaccination is recommended every 10 years. The TBE vaccination does not protect against Lyme borreliosis.

Susanna Steimer Miller
is editor-in-chief of «Baby&Kleinkind» and writes as a freelance journalist about children, health, nutrition and pets.