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Warmer Winters Drive Earlier Tick Season as Germany’s FSME Risk Expands

Vaccination in risk districts is now a priority due to earlier, longer tick activity.

Overview

  • Spring weather is bringing an early tick season in Bavaria, with activity once nights stay above 0°C and days above about 5°C.
  • The Robert Koch Institute has logged 918 Lyme disease cases and 11 tick‑borne encephalitis (FSME) cases nationwide so far this year.
  • Germany now lists 185 FSME risk areas, with recent additions in Nordsachsen county and the city of Halle (Saale).
  • In Hesse, cities like Darmstadt and Offenbach and several surrounding districts remain on the risk map, and local experts expect designations to push north and northeast.
  • Health advice stresses vaccination in risk areas, which prevents severe FSME in about 97% of cases, and prompt tick removal to cut Lyme transmission.