[Closed] Tick-borne encephalitis found in UK for first time

We've had it for a while (in Finland), and apparently unlike Lyme's disease the encelaphalitis is contracted immediately upon the bite, so a vaccination is the only reliable protection. If the tick has fastened itself, you already have the virus.

EDIT: Pants work okay too, assuming you don't crash...

Out of curiosity, and speaking as someone who’s already had Lyme disease, any idea how much the vaccination costs?

Is DEET still the best option for a repellent?

This is pretty concerning...

I don't have it myself, but Googled, it's around 60 euros a shot and you need three total for a long-term immunity. First booster 1-3 and second 9-12 months after the initial injection.

The virus is a lot less common in ticks than Lyme's disease (I think recent research has it around 10%), and I know of people who have spent their lives in nature in high-risk zones without problems, but there is a statistically significant increase in deaths in these areas.

I think the vaccine is free on the NHS? I've had it for a holiday - it's common in parts of Europe and when you are camping/spending time with horses it is reocmmended.

If not free I'd guess it would be around £50-70?

And I don't want to sound too alarmist. If only 10% of ticks carry the virus (varies by area), 10-30% of people contracting it show symptoms, and of those only 20-30% get the actual encelaphitis, that's 0.1 * 0.3 * 0.3 = 0.009, so about 1% chance of significant effects per bite.

Long trousers with socks pulled up over them will be the next MTB fashion craze.

And yes DEET is recommended for non-pregnant over 3-year olds, but in 50% concentration vs. the 10-15% in mosquito repellent. IR3535 for the young ones.

0.009, so about 1% chance of significant effects per bite.

That’s some nice rounding up.

Smidge (or anything with Picardin) as a repellant.