Camping Holidays Abroad Ignore Tick Risks
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Tick Alert campaign warns of increased tick bite risk whilst camping this year.
The credit crunch will create almost half a million extra camping trips this year, which will significantly increase the risk of tick bites, according to research by the Tick Alert.
The survey found that two-thirds (63%) of holidaymakers heading for the countryside here and abroad do not take precautions to reduce the risk of tick bites, which can lead to serious long term health problems.
A spokesperson for Tick Alert said Tick Borne Encephalitis (TBE), which kills two in every hundred sufferers, was now endemic in 27 countries across Europe and leads to an annual average of 10,000 cases needing hospital treatment.
Health experts have been trying to raise awareness for months now. Shirley Bannatyne, from MASTA Travel Clinics, told the BBC in June: “All the evidence shows that the prevalence of TBE and other tick-borne diseases is on the increase in some countries, so people heading for places where they will be at risk need to be aware of the potential dangers and take adequate precautions.”
The Tick Alert survey found the most popular European destinations among outdoors activity holidaymakers this year will be France (16%), Germany (12%) and Austria (10%). All three countries have ticks carrying TBE and also Lyme disease.
“Camping, along with other popular outdoor activities that put people closer to nature also increases the threat from tick bites. The outdoors is a great way to holiday and relax, but we are saying to people ‘think about tick bite prevention just as you would sun protection’,” said the Tick Alert spokesperson.
