Tick-borne Encephalitis—still a serious disease?

Excerpt

Even though Tick-Borne Encephalitis (TBE) is one of the few viral diseases that can be prevented by active immunization, the incidence is still increasing in most European and Eurasian countries. The only exception is Austria, where intensive vaccination campaigns over many years have dramatically diminished the number of TBE cases. The total number of annual cases is estimated to be up to 10,000 in Russia and up to 3,000 in European countries. The annual changes of the incidence has been associated with changes in the climate, explaining a more or less activity of ticks, but it is more likely that periods of sunny weather encourage more people to spend their leisure time outside in regions where infected ticks are alive. …