There is no cure for TBE, but 2 inactivated TBEV-Eu vaccines resulting in 95%–100% immunogenicity are available ( 17). The rate of incomplete recovery severely affecting quality of life at long-term follow-up is reported to be ≈40%–46% ( 15, 16).
#Smalland zweden series#
Source: Swedish Public Health Agency ( ), 2021.Īlthough the case-fatality rate associated with TBEV-Eu (based on previous case series in Sweden) is estimated at only 0–1.4% ( 14, 15), neurologic sequelae are common and often long lasting. Tick-borne encephalitis became a notifiable disease in Sweden in July 2004 thus, the number of reported cases before 2005 is less certain than the number of cases from 2005 on. Reported tick-borne encephalitis cases per year, Sweden, 1956–2021.
In Europe, ≈95% of case-patients with notified TBE require hospitalization ( 13). Clinical presentation ranges from mild meningitis to severe manifestations such as meningoencephalomyelitis with a risk for respiratory insufficiency requiring ventilator support in an intensive care unit (ICU) ( 10– 12). Clinical studies show that children account for 10%–16% of TBE cases ( 9). TBEV infection is mainly asymptomatic or associated with mild signs/symptoms (e.g., fever and general malaise) but may also cause neurologic signs/symptoms in persons in all age groups ( 8). In Europe, only Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Czechia and Slovenia report higher notification rates, on national levels, than Sweden ( 7). In certain regions of Sweden, however, the incidence among unvaccinated persons has been up to 8.5–12 cases/100,000 population ( 6). Over the past 3 decades, the number of cases has dramatically increased, with an average of 391 notified cases annually during the past 5 years (2017–2021), corresponding to an incidence of 3.8 cases/100,000 population ( 4, 5) ( Figure 1).
In Sweden, the disease is caused by the European subtype (TBEV-Eu), which is transmitted by the vector tick Ixodes ricinus ( 3). Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is the cause of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), an infectious disease of growing public health concern ( 1, 2).
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