Saarland in tick fever: Alarming Borreliosis numbers rise!

Saarland in tick fever: Alarming Borreliosis numbers rise!

In Saarland, more Borreliosis diseases were reported by the beginning of December 2024 than in the three previous years. 234 cases have become known by December 2, 2024, which is a significant increase in 2023 and 332 compared to 158 cases in 2023 and 332. Most affected people live in the Saarlouis district in 2024. The Ministry of Health estimates a high number of unreported cases because there is no nationwide reporting obligation for Lyme disease.

Lyme disease, which is transmitted by tick bites, is often more difficult to prove and sometimes has atypical disease courses. The skin, nervous system, joints and heart are usually affected. In Germany, up to a third of the ticks can be infected with the Borrelia Burgdorferi with the Borreliosis pathogen. The risk of infection is lower if the tick is removed early. A ring-shaped reddening of the skin around the puncture site can indicate Borreliosis and shows three to 30 days after the stitch, as the NDR triggers the bacterium burgdorferi the borreliosis that is widespread throughout Germany. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), there are several ten thousand diseases per year. Every third tick in Germany carries the Lyme disease, and infected ticks transfer the bacterium to up to 5.6 % of the engraved. The transmission risk increases after twelve hours of sucking time. A maximum of 1.4 % of the engraved disease of Lyme disease.

The symptoms of Lyme disease include fatigue, joint pain, muscle pain, fever and night sweat. In rare cases, neuroborreliosis can occur that can cause nerve pain and paralysis. The so -called hiking blush is a safe sign of borreliosis and occurs in about 90 % of the infections. The diagnosis is often difficult, since antibody detection via a blood test usually only shows the previous contact, but not a fresh infection. The treatment of diagnosed borreliosis is usually carried out with antibiotics. Vaccination against Lyme disease is currently not available, but it is being worked on on a vaccine that is to be approved by 2026.

In addition, lyme-carditis can occur after a tick bite, inflammation of the heart muscle, which can occur in 4-10 % of cases. Symptoms of lyme carditis are shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain, dizziness, heart stumbling and short loss of consciousness. The diagnosis of suspected lyme carditis is carried out by antibody tests as well as long-term ECG, cardio-MRI and echocardiography. The treatment is usually carried out with antibiotics over several weeks, whereby in some cases an inpatient treatment may be necessary.