Detva district is one of the outbreaks of tick -borne encephalitis (KE). The Regional Office of Public Health (RÚVZ) in Zvolen registers in this district Since the beginning of the year 2025 three confirmed cases of tick -borne encephalitis. Last year there were seven in the Detvian district. TASR informed the head of the Department of Epidemiology RÚVZ Jana Sitášová.
She added that the morbidity in this district has highly exceeded the trend in the Banská Bystrica region in ten years. However, in the last five years, they have reported tick -borne encephalitis in every region of Slovakia. “The highest incidence of diseases over a period of five years is recorded in the Banská Bystrica region (47 percent), followed by the Žilina region (36 percent) and the Trenčín region (20 percent),” explained.
As she said, the highest number of cases for the analyzed period was recorded in 2022 and 2023. However, doctors reported diseases for the period 2019 to 2023 all year round. “Most of the diseases occurred in May, June and July,” she stressed.
According to RÚVZ In addition to infected ticks, it may also be transmitted by some foods. “Risk may be in particular unpasteurized goat and sheep’s milk products, ” It recalls that the disease affects the central nervous system and can have serious and lasting consequences. It does not matter whether a person has been infected by the virus through an infected tick or contaminated dairy product.
According to RÚVZ, the best prevention of tick -borne encephalitis is the combination of vaccination against this infection, consistent protection against the tick by choosing the right clothing or the use of repellents. It also includes the fastest and safe removal of the tick from the body and the thermal treatment of risk products before consumption at a minimum of 70 degrees Celsius.
The Office points out that the basic rule is to remove the tick with tweezers. “It must be grabbed close to the skin and with a smooth movement to pull it out. The place where it was disinfected, as well as tweezers,” explains.
