Tick-borne encephalitis | German Center for Infection Research

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Short description

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a disease of the nervous system caused by the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). The virus is primarily transmitted through tick bites.

Synonyms

Early summer meningoencephalitis

ESME

Detailed description

TBEV is transmitted by infected ticks. Most infections are asymptomatic. If symptoms do occur, they often begin with flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, and body aches. In some patients, the central nervous system may be affected, leading to inflammation of the meninges, the brain, or the spinal cord. TBE can cause severe and, in rare cases, fatal complications, as well as long-term neurological symptoms. In Germany, there are regions with an increased risk of infection. Vaccination can protect against TBE.

Two tick species sharing a leave: Ixodes ricinus in the front. (Please use this picture only in connection to the press release).

Scientists warn: 2018 will be the ‘year of the tick’

This summer there will be a particularly large amount of ticks and thus a higher risk of getting meningitis or Lyme disease (borreliosis), because these diseases are transmitted by ticks. Scientists

Ixodes inopinatus discovered in Germany.

New tick species discovered in Germany: does it transmit viruses?

Initial associations with the term “emerging infections” usually involve diseases like Ebola and MERS or chikungunya and Zika fever. However, dangerous zoonoses, i.e. viral infections that can spread

Prof. Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit

Zika virus: Which concerns are justified?

Infections with Zika viruses are usually harmless. However, in Brazil, reports about a potential link between an infection with the virus and brain malformations (microcephaly) in newborns have

Apr 2018

Euro Surveill

A cluster of two human cases of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) transmitted by unpasteurised goat milk and cheese in Germany, May 2016

Autoren

Brockmann SO et al.