98,000 people became ill. One bite is enough to cause neurological damage.
- Although small and inconspicuous, ticks can carry dangerous bacteria, including the spirochete Borrelia responsible for Lyme disease.
- In 2024, primary care physicians provided assistance to over 98,000 patients with tick-borne diseases
- Among them, as many as 62,000 people had Lyme disease – a disease that, if left untreated, leads to serious neurological and cardiac complications.
- This accounts for approximately 63% of all tick-borne diseases.
The first ticks become active as early as late February and early March. However, the highest incidence of illnesses occurs during the summer holidays. The National Health Fund's report on tick-borne diseases shows a clear seasonal pattern in cases.
"Last year, from June to August, nearly 43,000 people visited their primary care physicians with tick-borne illnesses. In 2024, 725 people required hospitalization due to tick-borne viral encephalitis," notes Paweł Florek, director of the Social Communication and Promotion Office at the National Health Fund Headquarters.
A tick may be the size of a pinhead, but once it attaches to its host, it grows many times its size. It lives in shrubs, grass, and damp places. Its bite, though painless, can carry the risk of infection with tick-borne diseases.
The highest risk of infection occurs 36 hours after the parasite bites, so quick action and proper tick removal are crucial. Tools available in pharmacies can help safely remove the unwanted intruder.
It's not worth testing the tick itself, as such a test doesn't provide information about human infection. Testing the tick only allows us to determine whether it carries the Borrelia spirochete. A positive result doesn't confirm transmission of the spirochete to the human body. Therefore, testing the tick itself cannot confirm infection.
"According to regulations, such a test cannot be considered a diagnostic test. Moreover, it is also not recommended by scientific bodies and infectious disease specialists," says Monika Pintal-Ślimak, president of the National Council of Laboratory Diagnosticians.
More information, including how to recognize the first symptoms of the disease and what to do if the tick cannot be completely removed, is available in the Patient Guide from the National Health Fund: https://www.nfz.gov.pl//poradnik-pacjenta-nie-lekcewaz-ukaszenia-kleszcza
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