Significant increase in Lyme disease cases

Doctors have recorded 921 cases of Lyme disease in the first half of this year, almost a tenth more than last year, according to the State Health Institute. The health authorities ascribe this to the significantly higher incidence of infected ticks around the country and have called on people spending time outdoors to be aware, dress appropriately and use repellents in wooded areas with high grass. Ticks can also cause encephalitis, a serious disease affecting the nervous system. Although there is a vaccine for the latter relatively few Czechs get inoculated.