Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus: A General Overview

Abstract

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus is classified as one species with three subtypes, namely the European subtype, the Siberian subtype and the Far Eastern subtype. TBE is distributed in an endemic pattern of so-called natural foci over a wide geographical area from Western Europe to the northern part of Japan. It is the most important flavivirus infection of the central nervous system in Europe and Russia, with about 13,000 estimated human cases per year. The epidemiology of TBE is closely related to the ecology and biology of ixodid ticks. In nature, TBE virus is propagated in a cycle involving permanently infected ticks and wild vertebrate hosts. Currently, the diagnosis of TBE is mainly based on the detection of specific antibodies in serum and cerebrospinal fluid. No specific treatment for the disease is available to date, but it can be prevented by active immunization.