Nearly All of Bavaria Now Classified as FSME Risk Zone

The Robert Koch Institute has added new regions to its FSME risk map as cases of the tick-borne disease surge in Germany, with vaccination rates remaining low.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has declared three new FSME (tick-borne encephalitis) risk zones in Germany, bringing the total to 183 regions nationwide.
Bavaria is now almost entirely classified as an FSME risk area, with only the city of Schweinfurt remaining outside this designation.
FSME cases in Germany reached 686 in 2024, nearly double the annual median since 2001, and the second-highest recorded in over two decades.
Vaccination rates remain critically low, with only about 20% of adults in Bavaria fully vaccinated against FSME, despite the high risk of severe illness, particularly in older adults.
Experts attribute the spread of FSME-infected ticks to milder winters, which allow ticks to become active earlier in the year and expand into new regions.