The number of ticks has decreased, says Professor Thomas Jaenson at Uppsala University.
- There are several reasons for this.
Among other things, the tick larvae had a bad year in 2019 when there was a shortage of small rodents to suck blood from.
The larvae that survived had a hard time in June 2020, when it was dry and hot, he says.
But last year we were out in the woods and fields a lot due to the pandemic, how can the infection still have decreased?
- The authorities issued many warnings, and we believe that people thus became quite aware of the risks of ticks and TBE, says Thomas Jaenson.
Not since 2014 has the number of cases of TBE been lower in Uppsala County - then 19 cases were registered.
A total of 278 people throughout the country were infected with TBE last year.
Stockholm County had the most cases, 71.
Hear him tell more in the clip above.