Tick-borne pathogens

Due to the relatively mild average winters, ticks have significantly better chances of survival and can be active almost throughout the year. The number of tick-borne diseases has therefore been increasing for years. The TBE virus and Borrelia burgdorferi, which are considered neurotropic pathogens, are transmitted by ticks.  They may cause both acute and chronic infections. In particularly severe cases, they can lead to encephalitis and damage to the spinal cord and peripheral nerves. In addition to these well-known pathogens, ticks can also spread other pathogens, such as babesia, rickettsia and anaplasma. The infections they cause are often difficult to diagnose due to non-specific symptoms. Successful treatment is mostly based on fast and adequate diagnostics. Broadly applied serological diagnostics only provide positive results once the infection has taken its course and clinical infection symptoms have already developed. 

Biopsies, aspirates (e.g. joint punctures), blood, cerebrospinal fluid or urine can serve as analysis material to determine the presence of pathogen DNA. If the tick can be secured from the bite site, it can be examined to determine whether it carries any of the pathogens.