Abstract
Tick-borne encephalitis is an infection of the CNS caused by a tick-borne encephalitis virus transmitted by ticks. It is more common in adults than in children. During the last 30 years, the incidence of the disease increased continuously in almost all endemic European countries except Austria. Many factors are responsible for the increased incidence. However, in Austria, the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis decreased dramatically since the introduction of a well-organized vaccination campaign against tick-borne encephalitis. The diagnosis of tick-borne encephalitis is based on clinical criteria and laboratory confirmation of infection. Other tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme borreliosis and human granulocytic anaplasmosis, should be considered in children with tick-borne encephalitis since endemic areas for all three diseases overlap.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Heidemarie Holzmann (Associated Professor, Clinical Institute of Virology, Medical University of Vienna), Marika Hjertqvist (Epidemiolog, Smittskyddsinstitutet), Jevgenia Epshtein (Chief Specialist of Department of Communicable Disease Surveillance and Control, Health Protection Inspectorate, Estonia) and Maja Sočan (Institute of Public Health of Republic of Slovenia) for providing epidemiological data for children in their countries.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.