ABSTRACT
The tickborne encephalitides are a group of widely distributed viral diseases of humans or ruminant animals that are exposed to ticks. Infection may manifest without symptoms, as a fever of unknown origin, as an acute neurologic disease with or without sequelae, or may terminate fatally. Tickborne encephalitis, or TBE, refers specifically to disease caused by a flavivirus transmitted by hard (ixodid) ticks, but there are various local designations such as Russian SpringSummer encephalitis, Central European encephalitis, and Powassan fever. TBE was first recognized as a distinct nosologic entity in 1932 [1] following an epidemic in the Russian Far East, but retrospective analysis of the literature indicates that the clinical syndrome was endemic in lower Austria in the late 1920s [2]. The causal agent was isolated in 1937 [3]. A large literature has accumulated within the past half-century; Medline lists nearly 1500 references on the biology and clinical aspects of TBE since 1969. Until the recognition of Lyme disease as a pan-Holarctic zoonosis in the past two decades, TBE was the most prevalent tickborne disease affecting humans. In many parts of Russia, TBE may still be considered the most burdensome vectorborne infection because of its great morbidity and mortality. This chapter focuses on the epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and prevention of TBE.
