The Robert Koch Institute identifies new tick risk areas every year. There is a risk of TBE, a tick-borne encephalitis, particularly in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
The Frankfurt (Oder) city district in the east of Brandenburg and the Altenburger Land district in southern Thuringia will be added in 2024. In 2024, two new TBE risk areas will be signposted. At the same time, exotic ticks continue to be on the rise in Germany. The meadow tick and the sheep tick are increasingly spreading in Hesse. These ticks are able to transmit pathogens such as the Q fever pathogen. According to the RKI, Q fever is an infection that usually begins with a high fever, chills, and a severe headache. As the disease progresses, lung disease or hepatitis could occur, but symptoms often remain mild. Both are dangerous fever diseases that have rarely been transmitted in Germany and are rarely found in ticks.