Pfizer Pharma GmbH
Berlin (ots)
A study by the opinion research institute Civey [A] on behalf of Pfizer shows that 56 percent [B] of Germans have had at least one tick bite, 17 percent [B] were even stung more than five times. It is often underestimated that ticks are not only lurking in forests and meadows: 41 percent of people who have had a tick bite were bitten in their own garden. Ticks can transmit tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) viruses when they bite. The numbers warn of caution: 97 percent [C] almost everyone knows that a TBE infection can even be fatal in severe cases. Nevertheless, only around one in three [B] ever get vaccinated against TBE. The survey results show that doctors play a central role in preventive vaccinations: 60 percent of those surveyed [C] would be vaccinated against TBE if their doctor recommended it.
Vaccination is the best protection against TBE, because the viruses can be transmitted immediately when an infected tick bites. TBE is a disease of the meninges and central nervous system. The consequences can be permanent damage, such as paralysis, swallowing and speech disorders. In severe cases, sufferers are bedridden or confined to a wheelchair. In isolated cases, TBE can also be fatal. “TBE cannot currently be cured with medication. However, vaccination can protect against the disease,” explains Prof. Dr. medical Tomas Jelinek from the Center for Travel Medicine Berlin. “Anyone who needs short-term vaccination protection for the current tick season can use a quick vaccination schedule. The best thing to do is get advice from your family doctor.”
TBE risk areas are spreading, STIKO recommends vaccination
At the beginning of March, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) identified three new TBE risk areas: the urban district of Munich and the district of Fürstenfeldbruck in Bavaria and the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt. This increases the number of risk areas to a total of 178, with more than 40 percent of all districts across Germany now being affected.[1] The Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) recommends the TBE vaccination to everyone who lives in a TBE risk area or is planning to stay there – for example as part of an excursion – and who can come into contact with ticks. For stays in German TBE risk areas, the costs of the vaccination are covered by the statutory health insurance companies. Many health insurance companies also reimburse the costs for trips to foreign risk areas.
Current information on ticks and TBE: www.zecken.de
TBE press page with comprehensive press materials and free image and footage material: www.pfizer.de/fsme-pressematerialien
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Footnotes:
[A] The opinion research company Civey surveyed 5,000 people on behalf of Pfizer between April 19 and April 27, 2023. The results are representative of the total German population aged 18 and over. The statistical error of the overall results is 2.5 percent.
[B] Total German population aged 18 and over.
[C] People who have already heard of the disease TBE.
Sources:
[1] Robert Koch Institute (RKI). TBE risk areas in Germany (as of January 2023). Epid Bull 2023; 9:3-22.
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