Tick vaccination
Introduction
As spring draws to a close and temperatures slowly start to rise again, the annual warnings in magazines and on television arrive just in time with the first rays of sunshine: “Caution, TBE. “In many places you can read at the same time that it is best to have an TBE vaccination to be on the safe side. But when is an TBE vaccination necessary at all, how does it work and what are the risks?
What is TBE?
TBE first of all refers to early summer meningoencephalitis. The term meningoencephalitis refers to an inflammation of the brain. This is potentially life-threatening and represents a neurological emergency.
Responsible for this inflammation is the FSME virus, which in Germany is mainly transmitted by the bite of the tick. The virus is found in the saliva of the tick. In high-risk areas, about one in every hundred to one in twenty ticks carries the TBE virus – in other words, a tick bite does not necessarily mean the same as an TBE infection.
According to the RKI, high-risk areas are the entire states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, as well as neighboring areas. Only in the greater Munich area is the risk slightly lower. For the rest of Germany, no uniform trend can be discerned; in principle, conurbations with a high proportion of forests and meadows are naturally more affected.
A detailed TBE map can be found on the homepage of the RKI (Robert Koch Institute). However, the STIKO (permanent vaccination commission of the RKI) only recommends vaccination in the risk areas identified by the RKI and described above. In addition, according to the RKI, TBE vaccination is only necessary for people who have a lot to do in the forest for work reasons, such as foresters or agricultural workers.
The group of people for whom TBE vaccination is urgently recommended is therefore relatively small. If there is still a desire for an TBE vaccination, it can be administered by the family doctor. The costs, risks, and vaccination for children are discussed below.
- Inflammation in the brain
- TBE
If you decide to have an TBE vaccination, it depends on your health insurance company and your place of residence whether the costs for the vaccination will be covered. Nearly all health insurance companies pay for the vaccination if the place of residence is in a designated TBE risk area. The most frequently used vaccine “Encepur” is a triple vaccination.
For each of the three vaccinations, a vaccine dose of the active substance “Encepur” a 0.5 ml must be injected into the muscle. Therefore, when the doctor visits, one dose of the vaccine of 0.5 ml is injected directly. This is an adsorbate vaccine, which is injected into a muscle – preferably the upper arm muscle.
The timing scheme of the TBE vaccination must differentiate between the vaccines used. A common feature of both vaccines is that they are administered 3 times in total. However, the first vaccination dose is not enough, so that after 1-3 months a second vaccination must be administered.
The third and last vaccination is then given 9-12 months after the second vaccination. This vaccination schedule provides a basic immunization for 3 years and is recommended for people who need permanent protection. If a vaccination with Encepur is carried out, the 3rd vaccination takes place about 9-12 months after the 2nd vaccination.
If a vaccination with FSME-IMMUN is carried out, the 3rd vaccination takes place 5-12 months after the 2nd vaccination. For people who are planning a trip to a TBE risk area and therefore want to be vaccinated, this vaccination scheme is of course far too inflexible and time-consuming. Therefore, a faster vaccination schedule can also be carried out: After the first TBE vaccination on day 0, the second vaccination is given on day 7 and the third on day 21.
Thus, the TBE vaccination is already completed after 3 weeks. However, protection is to be expected 14 days after the first vaccination. The disadvantage of this fast vaccination scheme is that the immunization lasts only for a maximum of 1.5 years and sufficient protection is no longer guaranteed after 12 months.
There are two possible vaccines against FSME. Both FSME vaccinations are inactivated vaccines. This means that an inactivated TBE virus is injected into the body.
This is, so to speak, a dead virus that can no longer multiply. This causes a reaction of the immune system in the body of the vaccinated person, which is not very strong. The virus is cultivated in chicken cells.
Despite the fact that it is a dead vaccine, in case of an acute illness you should talk to your doctor before the vaccination.In case of an egg protein allergy, special attention should be paid to which vaccinations are performed. Both available vaccines against TBE are produced using chicken cells. Usually, the vaccinations contain only traces of chicken egg protein.
These hardly trigger any allergic reactions. However, if a chicken egg protein allergy is clinically conspicuous, i.e. accompanied by pronounced symptoms, vaccination against TBE should only be carried out if it is really necessary. Then the vaccination is carried out under intensive medical supervision.
It is speculated that TBE vaccination can trigger the disease multiple sclerosis. However, no direct connection between an TBE vaccination and the occurrence or triggering of MS can be proven. Since the TBE vaccination is a dead vaccine, the immune system is not affected as much as with live vaccinations.
A vaccination against TBE can also be administered after a thorough evaluation of the benefits and risks associated with MS. However, this should be discussed in detail in advance with the doctor treating the multiple sclerosis. You can find more detailed information on the disease “multiple sclerosis” hereA cold is not automatically a criterion for exclusion from the TBE vaccination.
However, in such a situation one should be careful and always keep a close consultation with the vaccinating doctor. In the case of a pronounced cold, the body is weakened and can react hypersensitively to a vaccination. If symptoms occur, such as fever or shortness of breath, the vaccination should be postponed if possible. If fever should occur shortly before the vaccination, the doctor should be informed.