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Tick-borne encephalitis

 

n.

An arbovirus of the genus Flavivirus that occurs in two subtypes, Central European and Eastern, causing two forms of encephalitis; it is transmitted by ticks.

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Wikipedia: Tick-borne encephalitis
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Tick-borne meningoencephalitis
Classification and external resources
ICD-10 A84.
ICD-9 063
DiseasesDB 29274
MeSH D004675

Tick-borne meningoencephalitis or Tick-borne encephalitis is a tick-borne viral infection of the central nervous system affecting humans as well as most other mammals. It is caused by the tick-borne encephalitis virus.

The number of cases has been increasing in most countries,[1] except Austria.[2]

Contents

Presentation

The virus can infect the brain (encephalitis), the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord (meningitis) or both (meningoencephalitis).[3]

Transmission

Sheep ticks such as this Ixodes ricinus transmit the disease

It is transmitted by the bite of infected deer- or sheep ticks or (rarely) through the non-pasteurized milk of infected cows. Sexual transmission has been documented in mice with vertical transmission to progeny. Sexual transmission with humans has never been documented.

Ticks involved in transmission include Ixodes persulcatus and Ixodes ricinus.[4]

Etiology

Russia and Europe report between 10-12,000 human cases annually.[citation needed] The disease is incurable once manifest, but infection can be prevented by vaccination. In humans, the disease is lethal in approximately 1% of cases and leaves 10-20% of its survivors with permanent neurological damage. [5]

The former Soviet Union did a great deal of research on all tick borne disease including TBE viruses.

Diagnosis

The TBE virus may be present in a seronegative strain or subtype. In such cases a marker for TBE infection is elevated IFN-g in CSF.

Treatment

There are four main categories of treatment for TBE:[citation needed]

  • interferon treatment (similar to interferon used for the treatment of Hepatitis C)
  • antibiotic treatment for possible tickborne coinfections

References

External links


 
 

 

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Medical Dictionary. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Tick-borne encephalitis" Read more