For all newcomers Ticks (German word Zecken) are rife in the Northern part of Switzerland. My two young boys were walking in the forest today and we managed to find one tick on each of them. What I was astonished about was how small the ticks were, but dark in colour, so they do stand out! They were really small, about the size of a pin head and if we weren't looking for them we would have missed them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tick
It is recomended that adults living in affected areas are vaccinated against ticks. According to our GP, children should be not vaccinated until they are 7 years of age.
We have known people who have ended up in hospital and have been off work for months because of tick bites!
According to my better half you can get a tick spray from the pharmacy!
I was probably not quite clear: The areas of the canton of Bern that I may visit are adjacent to the Western Valais, basically Kandersteg and surroundings. From the map they seem far south of the areas of concern, the most southerly of which appears to be the Thun/Spiez area.
Looks like I only checked the encephalitis map, Lyme disease seems more widespread, including the whole Rhone valley. Still, it does not seem to be a risk in either the valleys south of the Rhone or in the Bernese areas that I plan to visit.
Or am I misunderstanding the maps? I do not read German (though Google Translate does help ).
Ticks are rife in Dübendorf my dog nearly died. She was never the same pup after contacting this virus. Don't sniff at this virus, for your dog, get the jab and walk easy.
Timely reminder thank you. We will all be going to get our vaccinations very soon. Girly has already had two ticks which is quite alarming but she does go further afield than me - woods and playarea downstairs
I believe you can only vaccinate against Encephalitis but not Lymes. I got bitten by a tick a couple of months ago I assume in my garden because I hadn't been in the forest. The first thing I noticed was an odd rash so I went to my doctor. He said it was almost certainly due to a tick bite and took a blood sample. However he said because I had a rash the tick had almost certainly transmitted Lymes and he would have to start treatment without waiting for the results. Two weeks of very strong antibiotics twice a day!! They are not very pleasant and make your skin very sensitive to sunlight. The results came back positive. My doc said because I came to him quickly the concentration of the virus in my system was not too high but if I had left it, it would have been harder to treat. After a while the rash disappears and then you have no idea you have a problem until you wake up one day paralysed. So the moral of the story is:
1. Spray your legs with tick repellent
2. Check yourself very carefully when you come back home
3. Go to the doc immediately if you get a rash and get it checked out.
4. Don't assume you can only get ticks in the forest. Wildlife can bring them into your garden.
will be moving to schaffhausen in sept and plan to do lots of walking/cycling in the forested areas. i know that ticks are a problem here and around zurich and st gallen.
I wondered if someone could give advice to how to get vaccination and the approx cost?
would these costs usually be refunded through health insurances??
Ask in any doctor's surgery for the vaccination. 3 injections are required (2nd after 3 (?) months and the 3rd after 1 year). The protection lasts 3 years and can then be extended with another single injection.
As far as I can recall, costs approx Fr100 for the 3 injections in total. According to zecke.ch it should be covered by the health insurance
Risk areas:
I would recommend that you get the injections. I'm regularly in the forests running, biking, walking and foraging and I get several tick bites each year.
Vaccination is critical for anyone active in the affected areas. Residents in Canton Zurich are entitled to medical insurance cover. Other cantons have different rules. Never mind the reimbursement. Just have it done!
Note however that vaccination does not protect you against another tick borne disease, which is borreliosis also known as Lyme disease. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease
Fortunately, it can be treated with antibiotics, if symptoms are diagnosed early.
See the pictures on the cited Wiki page. If they occur, go immediately to a doctor and insist on treatment. I was bitten and got the symptoms, which at that time were unknown to me. My GP was reluctant to treat. Fortunately, a close relation is an MD and sent me to a tick specialist in Zurich.
Simple tick prevention tip: Do not expose any skin. Wear long trousers, tucked tightly into socks, and closed shoes. Prefer light colored clothes (easier to detect ticks). After coming home, inspect skin for these parasites, extract any and shower off.
Yeah vaccination against meningoencephiliatis was one of the first thing that I did when I reached here. Normally its 3 shots, second shot after 2 weeks of first vaccination and third or last shot after one year of first shot. But if you are already hiking out then its possible to get fast (schnell) vaccination. It has four shots and has to be taken in 2 weeks, one month and after a year.
The doctor also insisted me to take MMR (rubella) vaccination and Tetanus. Do any one has any idea if MMR and tetanus vaccination is also covered by health insurance or not.
Ticks, and many other insects, are happier at lower altitudes. You are probably safe above 1'000m when north of the Alps. However, with global warming and micro-climatic variations, you never know.