The high titres of antibodies to TBE are not always associated with neurological signs. The highest antibody titre (1280) and follow up titres (320) were both recorded in dog 2, which had no clinical signs of neurological disease either before or after the initial examination. Nevertheless, in people, TBE usually has a biphasic course. In the initial phase, lasting one to eight days, the non-specific signs may include vomiting and diarrhoea; this is followed by an asymptomatic period after which 20 to 30 per cent of patients develop neurological symptoms, or the disease resolves without entering the second stage (Kunz 1992). In dog 2, the signs of'gastroenteritis' may represent the initial stage (so far undescribed in dogs), which did not progress to the stage with neurological abnormalities. References