title: Infections following tickbites. Tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme borreliosis--a prospective epidemiological study from Tyrol.
abstract: We present here a prospective study on infections following tickbites in military recruits in the province of Tyrol (Austria). 84 recruits experienced tickbites and underwent clinical and serological examination twice at four-week intervals for signs of tick borne encephalitis (TBE)-virus or Borrelia burgdorferi infections. 56 and 50 recruits could be evaluated for TBE-virus and Borrelia infection, respectively. Whereas no recruit was found with clinical or laboratory evidence of TBE-virus infection, two (4%) recruits showed an erythema chronicum migrans as primary manifestation of a Borrelia burgdorferi infection and 11 (20%) recruits had a significant increase in the titer of anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies. Our results support the predominance of a subclinical course of a tick-transmitted borrelia infection in the population under observation, and shed some light on the epidemiological situation of tick-transmitted diseases in Tyrol.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Innsbruck.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schmutzhard
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stanek
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pletschette
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hirschl
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pallua
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schmitzberger
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schlögl
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001317:Austria; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000150:complications*; D001898:Borrelia / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004675:Encephalitis, Tick-Borne / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008889:Military Personnel; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013987:Ticks