There are no more predators left in Europe. Aside from tourists…and ticks. What is it with all the tick-borne disease out there these days? Some people say that the tick epidemic is directly related to the over-population of deer, which is directly related to the lack of real predators. Seems like people are very good at hunting down the real big predators but very bad at eliminating the little ones.
Adrianne blogged about Lyme disease in the US last year and included stats from all the different states. This article talks about the number of people affected by tick-borne disease soaring in the UK.
The map shows the areas of Europe most affected by tick-borne disease. Yellow for encephalitis, blue for Lyme disease (in the UK only?) Click on the map for a bigger picture.
The map doesn’t seem entirely accurate. Although the Czech Republic is in a yellow zone, a few of my friends got Lyme disease there in the last few months. All of them are OK now after being treated with antibiotics. I do, however, know other people who are in very bad shape as a result of Lyme disease.