title: Siberian subtype tick-borne encephalitis virus in Ixodes ricinus in a newly emerged focus, Finland.
abstract: The first tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) cases in Kotka, Finland appeared in 2010. Altogether ten human cases have been diagnosed by 2014. Four had long-lasting sequelae. We collected 195 Ixodes ricinus ticks, nine rodents, and eleven shrews from the archipelago of Kotka in 2011. Three Siberian subtype TBE virus (TBEV) strains were isolated from the ticks and three mammals were positive for TBEV antibodies. The archipelago of Kotka is a newly emerged TBE focus of Siberian subtype TBEV circulating notably in I. ricinus. The patients had on average longer hospitalization than reported for the European subtype infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 21, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: anu.jaaskelainen@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Anu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jääskeläinen
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 21, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: elina.rintala@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Elina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tonteri
authors.affiliation: Kymenlaakso Central Hospital, Kotkantie 41, FI-48210 Kotka, Finland. Electronic address: ilkka.pieninkeroinen@fimnet.fi.
authors.forename: Ilkka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pieninkeroinen
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 21, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: tarja.sironen@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Tarja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sironen
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 21, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland; Natural Resources Institute, Vantaa Unit, P.O. Box 18, FI-01301 Vantaa, Finland. Electronic address: liina.voutilainen@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Liina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Voutilainen
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Health and Welfare, P.O. Box 30, FI-00271 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: markku.kuusi@thl.fi.
authors.forename: Markku
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuusi
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 21, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland; Department of Virology and Immunology, HUSLAB, Helsinki University Hospital, P.O. Box 400, FI-00029 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: antti.vaheri@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Antti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vaheri
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 21, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland; Department of Virology and Immunology, HUSLAB, Helsinki University Hospital, P.O. Box 400, FI-00029 Helsinki, Finland; Department of Veterinary Biosciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 66, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: olli.vapalahti@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Olli
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Vapalahti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D004669:Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004675:Encephalitis, Tick-Borne / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D062312:Islands; D018884:Ixodes / Q000821:virology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012367:RNA, Viral; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: Ixodes ricinus; Siberian subtype; TBE; Tick; Tick-borne encephalitis; Tick-borne encephalitis virus