TBE alarm: Tick transmission increases dramatically due to mild winters!

TBE alarm: Tick transmission increases dramatically due to mild winters!

On March 9, 2025, a press conference to provide early information about tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) took place at the University of Hohenheim. The focus was on the ongoing tick activity and the worrying number of cases in Germany. According to the university, a large number of ticks survive in mild winters, which increases the likelihood of infection with TBE.

The first TBE cases were reported in Germany as early as January 2025. In 2024, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) recorded 686 cases, the second highest number since the reporting requirement began. While 80% of cases were concentrated in the south of the country - with 226 cases in Baden-Württemberg and 311 in Bavaria - there was also an increase in cases in northern states such as Saxony, Lower Saxony and Brandenburg. Even in regions that are not designated as risk areas, there is a risk of TBE infections.

Increase in TBE cases

The increase in TBE cases since 2017 is striking, but the exact figures for 2025 are still unclear. A significant problem remains the high number of unreported cases of TBE infections. Blood tests show that the infection rate in Ortenaukreis is now seven times higher than it was 40 years ago. The TBE pathogens, which are mainly transmitted by the European woodbuck, are widespread throughout Germany.

According to the RKI, vaccination offers the only effective protection against TBE. In particular, primary immunization requires three vaccinations, followed by boosters every five years or every three years for people over 50 or 60. Statistically speaking, with vaccination coverage of at least 50% of the population, the number of cases can be significantly reduced. So far, no federal state has achieved this quota.

Particular risk for children

Children who often play outdoors are particularly at risk and are therefore at a higher risk of tick bites. An evaluation in Baden-Württemberg shows that around 25% of children can develop severe illnesses, while this proportion is around 50% in adults. Even if severe cases are rarer in children, this can lead to neurological sequelae, which can occur in around 2% of affected children and 30-40% of adult patients.

The Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) therefore recommends the TBE vaccination for children aged one year and over. However, parents should carefully weigh the benefits and risks of vaccination. According to the data from rki.de Around 15% of one to two year olds and around 5% of three to eleven year olds show fever as a side effect after vaccination.

TBE is not a disease that is transmitted from person to person, which means that vaccination primarily offers individual safety. In Austria, around 80% of the population has already been vaccinated, but the number of cases there is also increasing. Experts therefore recommend early and active discussion of the topic of TBE and a vaccination recommendation, especially for people outside the official risk areas and when traveling to neighboring countries such as France, the Netherlands and Denmark.

Overall, TBE remains a topic of growing importance for public health, affecting not only southern Germany, but increasingly other regions of Germany as well. Information on TBE reports and risk areas is published annually nali-impfen.de published where current developments can be followed closely.