Top 10 questions: Tick-borne encephalitis

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a human viral infectious disease involving the central nervous system. It occurs in eastern, central and northern European countries, and in northern China, Mongolia and the Russian Federation.¹

Not to be confused with Lyme disease (which is caused by a bacteria), the virus is harboured in a variety of small mammals, domestic livestock and certain species of birds.

1 What is tick-borne encephalitis?

TBE is one of the world’s arboviruses; ie a virus that is transmitted in most cases through the bite of an infected insect, in this case, an infected tick.¹ The virus is carried in the wild by a variety of animals, such as voles, sheep and deer, and is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected tick.