Lyme disease?
- an infectious disease transmitted by ticks and caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi
- Varied symptoms with different degrees of severity
- mainly affects the skin, nervous system, joints and heart
Route of transmission
- through tick bites
- Increasing risk of infection with prolonged sucking of the tick
- none Transmission from person to person
symptoms
- Often unnoticed
- Often unspecific symptoms
- in many cases, a travelling redness is described, an approx. 5 cm large, ring-shaped reddening of the skin, which increases in size with increasing duration and usually occurs around the puncture site approx. three to 30 days after the puncture
- Infections of the nervous system are possible, which can lead to anything from burning nerve pain to signs of paralysis
- In some cases, inflammation of the joints occurs, especially the knee joint is affected
Risk of infection?
- Sick people are not contagious
Am I at risk?
- People who are frequently exposed to the risk of tick bites are considered to be particularly at risk
Protective measures
- No vaccination available
- Avoid tick bites (light-coloured, long clothing with vector protection; apply tick repellent; search the body)
- Remove ticks quickly (quick removal significantly minimises the risk of infection; remove using tweezers close to the skin; do not manipulate the tick in any other way; thoroughly disinfect the bite site afterwards)
- Dispose of ticks safely (e.g. by flaming the tweezers or fixing them with adhesive tape)
Treatment?
- Early treatment with antibiotics generally leads to rapid and complete recovery.
- A doctor should be consulted for clarification if a travelling rash occurs
- After a Borrelia infection, there is no immunity