Ticks suck

The pastoral bliss of the Lithuanian forests, lakes and hills, hides a nasty surprise – armies of disease-ridden ticks. All over Lithuania, in early summer, health authorities run a massive campaign to remind people to get out of harms’ way. The blood-sucking parasitic arachnids carry, on one hand, lyme disease, which is nasty and can not be prevented but rarely leads to any serious harm if treated in time. But they also carry TBE, a type of encephalitis that can be fatal. Luckily, for the latter, vaccine is available, and should definitely be considered for anyone planning to spend more than a picnic in the Lithuanian nature. In 2014, 2257 cases of lyme disease were recorded, and 353 TBE cases of which one was fatal, during the season which runs from early May until late autumn. It is still more dangerous to get in the car and drive to the picnic, but still, make sure to check for any new black spots after an outing, just to be on the safe side.