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HEALTH

Ticks in Norway: Do I need to take a vaccine? 

The summer months in Norway mark tick season, where thousands of people are bitten each year. Although most people are usually fine, tick bites come with the risk of Lyme disease.

A tick in Norway.
Very few people in Norway are recommended to take a tick vaccine. Pictured is a tick. Photo by Erik Karits on Unsplash

Ticks, or flått, in Norway can be found mainly in the southeast and along coastal areas in the west, and as far north as Bodø. However, ticks can also be found further inland. 

They can be found in forests, meadows, and long grass, meaning the biggest risk is when you’re out in nature – especially hiking, camping, or berry-picking.

Ticks are active when the temperature is higher than 5c, but are most common during summer. Tick season is roughly from April to September in Norway, with most bites occurring in summer.

The two main tick-borne diseases in Norway are Lyme disease and Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE).

Lyme disease (also called borreliosis) causes no symptoms in around half of all people who catch it. For others, it can cause skin redness, headaches, and pain and can attack the nervous system.

Around 25 percent of all ticks in Southern Norway are carriers infected with the Borrelia bacteria, according to The Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Tick-borne Diseases.

TBE is a viral brain infection, which can cause a range of symptoms, usually starting with typical flu-like symptoms and then developing to include nausea, dizziness, and in around a third of cases, severe problems. Symptoms usually appear around a week after the bite but can take longer. There is no cure, but it can be treated, and there is a vaccination too.

While ticks are found across Norway, ticks carrying TBE, according to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, are mostly concentrated in Rogaland, Vestfold and Telemark, Adger and Viken. Around one percent of ticks in Norway carry TBE. 

Who should get a vaccine? 

Vaccinations are recommended for those living in areas with TBE-infested ticks and/or who spend a lot of time in forests. More specifically, the vaccine should be considered for children and adults in west-Agder, east-Agder, Telemark, Vestfold and Buskerud.

You get three doses within the first year, each one increasing the level of protection, another amount after three years and then will need top-ups every five years, every three years if you are over 60.

Because you need several doses to be fully protected, it’s recommended that you begin the vaccination programme well ahead of tick season. It’s also worth noting that you should receive the third dose before the next tick season starts if you receive your jabs mid-tick season. 

However, the incidence rate of TBE in Norway is low, meaning that in most cases, you won’t need to take a tick vaccine and can instead focus on preventative measures. 

If you are spending time in wooded areas with long grass, especially those with a high tick presence, take precautions like wearing long-sleeved clothing and tucking trousers into socks. Also, avoid brushing against long grasses by walking along the middle of the path where you can.

After returning home from a day out, you should check carefully for ticks and shower shortly after coming inside. This can give you the chance to remove them before they bite, for example, if you spot them on your clothes. Putting clothes in a tumble dryer for one hour should kill ticks.

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HEALTH

‘The welfare state has failed them’: Norway’s plan to address drug overdose deaths

Norway will look to reverse an increase in drug and alcohol-related deaths, and the country’s health minister has announced several measures aimed at achieving this.

‘The welfare state has failed them’: Norway's plan to address drug overdose deaths

Drug-related deaths are at a 20-year high in Norway. Last year, some 363 deaths were reported to be the result of an overdose, which was the highest figure since 2001. There were also 450 alcohol-related deaths in 2023.

“We must recognise that the welfare state has failed for many of them and has not stood up when they have needed it most,” health minister Jan Christian Vestre told TV 2.

While the raw numbers may not seem too dramatic for a country of 5.5 million people, the numbers are quite high compared to some other European countries.

Figures from Eurostat, the EU’s data agency, measured the incidence of drug overdose deaths per million people in Norway at 63 in 2021, placing it among the highest in Europe.

More recent figures from Europe compiled by The Economist also had Norway as one of the countries with the highest incident rates, with 86 people dying as a result of an overdose per million of the population.

Ireland (97) and Estonia (95) had a higher incidence rate than Norway.

Heroin has long been the most common cause of overdoses in Norway. However, prescription drugs now dominate the overdose statistics. Opioids such as morphine, codeine and oxycodone were the most common cause of overdose deaths, followed by heroin, and then synthetic opioids such as protonitazen, buprenorphine, fentanyl and pethidine.

In 2023, the number of deaths caused by synthetic opioids was at an all-time high, The Norwegian Institute of Public Health said in a report on overdose deaths.

When asked whether Norway was struggling with an opioid crisis, Vestre said there was every cause for concern.

“The way the numbers are showing now, I think there is every reason for concern and uneasiness,” he said.

“If we do not get control of this situation, and introduce effective measures, the situation could get worse. We must, by all means, avoid that,” he added.

Action plans to prevent drug deaths by previous governments have emphasised heroin as the biggest problem. However, Vestre said the situation had changed.

The health minister has said that three immediate measures would be implemented to try and curb the number of overdose deaths.

Norway’s Directorate of Health has been tasked with implementing an action plan against overdoses, both as a result of illegal and prescription drugs.

New methods would also be established to monitor drug use to allow the authorities to implement measures much faster.

The health minister also wants to improve and increase treatment options for those with addiction issues. He said there needed to be a robust offer for those with the most severe addiction issues, and he wanted to make treatment for people with addiction more accessible. This measure would include improved access to drug-assisted rehabilitation.

Norway’s Directorate of Health has said that it would consider tightening the use of opioids in the health service.

“ It is certainly one of the things we are now looking at. Both the prescribing rules and stricter requirements for de-escalation plans. In this way, patients who are on strong painkillers for a shorter period of time get a clear plan for when to stop using them,” the directorate told TV 2.

Despite the measures announced, Norway’s government has dragged its heels on a wider drug reform plan. The reform was supposed to be unveiled at the beginning of the year before being postponed.

No date has been set for the unveiling of the reform.

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