As of: March 6, 2024, 9:57 p.m
By: Martina Lippl
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Hyalomma tick is larger than domestic ticks.
The giant tick or “hunting tick” can be recognized by its striped legs.
© Robert Koch Institute
It is much larger than native ticks, lurks in holes in the ground and hunts prey: the Hyalomma tick.
The tropical species is a risk for Germany.
Kassel – The tick season begins with the mild temperatures, it used to be said.
However, researchers now say that ticks have no winter break and are active nationwide.
The giant tick Hyalomma, which can carry nasty pathogens, is spreading in Germany.
The exotic bloodsucker actually prefers a hot and dry climate.
The population is still low, but tick experts fear that could change.
Hyalomma tick settles in Germany
The tropical tick species Hyalomma is up to two centimeters long without having sucked blood.
Twice the size of the common woodbuck.
What's special: Hyalomma ticks hunt on their own, while native ticks blindly wait for their prey.
The so-called “hunting tick” crawls actively and quickly towards its prey.
Hyalomma can be visually recognized by their strikingly striped legs.
Hyalomma tick is larger than domestic ticks.
The giant tick or “hunting tick” can be recognized by its striped legs.
© Robert Koch Institute
Where do the giant ticks Hyalomma actually come from?
Hyalomma originally come from Africa or Asia.
Migratory birds probably bring tropical ticks to Germany in spring.
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the first discoveries appeared in 2007.
In 2018, a large number of tropical ticks were documented in Germany for the first time.
19 specimens from eight different federal states - Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, Berlin and Schleswig-Holstein were sent to the RKI.
Are Hyalomma ticks dangerous?
The first case of typhus in a horse owner from North Rhine-Westphalia in 2019 shocked scientists.
The new species of tick also bites people and can transmit typhus, said Ute Mackenstedt, a parasitologist at the University of Hohenheim, in a statement at the time.
Antibiotics were effective in treating the infected person.
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But Hyalomma ticks can also carry the treacherous Crimean-Congo virus and cause the deadly Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF).
However, this virus has not yet been detected in any ticks in Germany.
However, that is no reason to ignore the invasive species.
“Cases have occurred in Portugal and Spain in the past decades, and more recently in southern France,” said Ute Mackenstedt, parasitologist at the University of Hohenheim in the
Spiegel
interview.
“Hyalomma is one of the ticks that we believe will settle here sooner or later,” says the tick researcher.
The RKI does not rule out the scenario either: adult animals are active from twelve degrees Celsius, but lower temperatures do not necessarily seem to hinder the animals.
Finds from the autumn months would show this, the Berlin institute says on its website.
Hyalomma ticks found in Germany – Will they stay?
It is initially unclear whether a Hyalomma population can emerge in Germany in the long term.
Even if a few nymphs have already been found that must have hatched in Germany.
“However, further rising temperatures and increasingly lower humidity could contribute to this.”
Year |
Hyalomma ticks |
Location |
|---|---|---|
2007 |
first finds |
|
2018 |
19 copies |
Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, Berlin and Schleswig-Holstein |
2019 |
6 copies |
Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Brandenburg North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony |
2020 |
1 |
Thuringia |
2021 |
2 |
North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria |
2022 |
14 |
Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Lower Saxony, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt |
2023 |
1 |
Thuringia |
Source: RKI (as of May 26, 2023)
Of the tropical relatives, only the two Hyalomma species Hyalomma marginatum and Hyalomma rufipes have been found in Germany.
Ticks are that dangerous in Germany
The native ticks are already dangerous animals, Lyme disease and TBE (tick-borne encephalitis) are serious diseases.
The common wood tick and also the alluvial forest tick can transmit TBE.
Most people infected with TBE remain without symptoms.
In severe cases, the viral disease can lead to inflammation of the brain and damage the spinal cord.
There is a vaccination against TBE, but not against Lyme disease.
Tick species |
Transmitted diseases |
|---|---|
Common woodbuck (Ixodes ricinus) |
TBE, Lyme disease |
Riparian forest ticks (Dermacentor reticulatus) |
Babesia (canine malaria), TBEV, Rickettsia |
Hyaloma |
Typhus fever, Crimean-Congo virus |
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the common woodbuck (Ixodes ricinus) is the most common in Germany.
Followed by riparian forest ticks (Dermacentor reticulatus), which rarely attack humans.
TBE cases predominantly occur in risk areas in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
Doctors strongly recommend TBE vaccination, including for children.
2024 could be a distinct “tick year,” explained tick researcher Mackenstedt in the run-up to a tick congress in February.
According to the experts, one factor is that “years with a lot of ticks” are becoming more and more common.
Instead of every three years, they now occur every other year.
The annoying black flies are also on the rise in Germany.
(ml)