Tick Awareness for Scottish 6 Days, Oban

[Paul Frost]

We recently received an email from a prospective entrant for the Scottish 6 Days asking about Tick Borne Encephalitis (TBE) after they had read the article in CompassSport ‘How not to Die Orienteering in Europe’ (Volume 31, Issue 4, August 2010, pages 18 – 19).

In the article Hugh Moore included Scotland in a list of countries that TBE is found in. Extensive investigations show no evidence of TBE in the UK. You can find more details about TBE and Lyme Disease on the Scottish 6 Days website.

If you plan to orienteer abroad you should read the linked articles etc. to enable you to make informed decisions about the need for jabs before you go.

[Big Jon]

I can confirm that (as of a few years ago) there was no TBE in UK - its mostly eastern Europe but spreading slowly westwards, eg SE Sweden, eastern parts of Germany etc. We can expect it to reach UK sometime in the future but for now we are clear, however if you go eastwards its best to be sure and get the jabs - they may cost quite a bit but its better than being dead or crippled.