The first to notify the center of tick activity have been dog owners. So far there have been no new patients suffering from tick-borne encephalitis or lyme disease, but people should still make sure they are vaccinated against encephalitis.
“A person needs to look at their vaccination passport and check if it's not time to go for a revaccination. But that's only against ticks with the encephalitis virus, which causes tick-borne encephalitis, but against lyme disease there is no vaccine,” said Rozentāle.
Last year out of the more than 6,000 ticks inspected, only one percent had the encephalitis virus, but every fourth or fifth had the borrelia bacterium that causes lyme disease. Many people may think a walk in nature is a great way to get exercise while social distancing during the pandemic, but people should still use precautions such as tick repellent, and wear long sleeves and pants.
