Climate change favors ticks. Scientists beat the alarm

Prof. Joanna Zajkowska from the Clinic of Infectious Diseases and Neuroinfeight of the Medical University of Bialystok emphasized the TOK FM antenna that ticks are no longer connected only with trips to the forest. During the “Life in Health” broadcast, she talked about the spread of these insects.

Ticks use on mild winters

– Climate change caused that we should beware of ticks all the time. Dog owners, people living near the forest observe that there are actually more ticks than before – noted prof. Zajkowska.

She explained that they were active when the temperature is higher than 7 degrees Celsius. In recent years, such days have been found even in winter. “A warmer day can lure them out of forest litter and they can climb some sticks and wait for a potential host,” she said.

Temperatures are conducive not only directly to ticks themselves. Gentle winters allow you to experience more small rodents, which in spring become the first host of ticks. I am talking about mice, voles, squirrels and snout, which with a thin layer of snow have easier access to seeds and acorns.

Ticks and diseases associated with them

The multiplication of ticks, of course, translates into diseases. In recent years, an increase in the percentage of Lyme disease has been observed. – When the temperatures rise above 10 degrees, all ticks wake up simultaneously, which means that they infect each other – explained prof. Zajkowska.

According to the data of the National Institute of Public Health-State Research Institute, 29,347 people fell ill with Lyme disease in 2024. In 2023 it was 25,285 people, and in 2022 17 369.

In recent years, however, the number of tick -borne encephalitis has also been growing. According to PZH data, in 2019 it was 265 cases, in 2022 – 445, in 2023 – 659, and in 2024 – 793 cases. It is worth recalling that you can get vaccinated for this disease.