title: The current perspective on tick-borne encephalitis awareness and prevention in six Central and Eastern European countries: report from a meeting of experts convened to discuss TBE in their region.
abstract: Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a potentially life-threatening disease in humans and is caused by a flavivirus spread by infected ticks (Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus). TBE is endemic across much of Central and Eastern Europe and the incidence is increasing, with numbers estimated to be as many as 8755 cases per year. The reasons for this increase are multi-faceted and may involve improvements in diagnosis and reporting of TBE cases, increases in recreational activities in areas inhabited by infected ticks and changes in climatic conditions affecting tick habitats. Vaccination is the most effective method of preventing TBE; following a successful nationwide vaccination campaign in Austria, the annual number of TBE cases fell to about 10% of those reported in the pre-vaccination era. This report describes the findings of a group of leading experts from six Central and Eastern European countries who convened to discuss TBE in their region during the 28th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID) Nice, France, 4-8 May 2010.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Medical University, Vienna, Austria. herwig.kollaritsch@meduniwien.ac.at
authors.forename: Herwig
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kollaritsch
authors.forename: Václav
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chmelík
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dontsenko
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grzeszczuk
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kondrusik
authors.forename: Vytautas
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Usonis
authors.forename: András
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lakos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001317:Austria / Q000453:epidemiology; D004669:Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne / Q000276:immunology*; D004675:Encephalitis, Tick-Borne / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology; D005061:Europe, Eastern / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D018884:Ixodes / Q000821:virology; D014611:Vaccination / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D014765:Viral Vaccines