Tick-borne encephalitis in the golden agers: A conference report of the International Scientific Working Group on Tick-Borne Encephalitis (ISW TBE)

From childhood to golden age: increased mobility – increased risk of contracting tick-borne encephalitis?

“…From childhood to golden age: TBEa threat throughout life With advancing age, the ability of the human organism to mount an immune response decreases, the reaction to vaccination tends to slow down, and antibody titers reach lower values and decrease earlier than in younger vaccinees [3,20]. As immune response weakens, the health risks associated with infection increase.…”

“…As immune response weakens, the health risks associated with infection increase. This is also the case with TBE, where the course in the elderly is more severe, requires longer rehabilitation, and is associated with a higher likelihood of fatal outcome [3]. However, the fact that TBE is generally more severe in the elderly should not be interpreted to mean that morbidity in children is negligible.…”

“…The number one message of the ISW-TBE throughout the years has been that TBE is a vaccine-preventable disease, with the field effectiveness of the vaccine as high as 99% [1] -among the best achievable by active immunization against viral disease. The work of the group has been summarized in several previous conference reports [2][3][4][5][6].…”

Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW) on an assessment of the risk of tick introduction into UK, Republic of Ireland, and Malta as a consequence of abandoning National rules

“…TBE occurs in Central Europe, and the list of countries with reported cases comprises Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden (Kunze et al, 2006). For all these countries, with the exception of Austria, an increasing incidence is reported.…”

“…For all these countries, with the exception of Austria, an increasing incidence is reported. Due to increased travelling of people, it is becoming an international public health problem (Kunze et al, 2006), however, no reports of TBE from the UK, Ireland and Malta have been reported (as of February 2007). Louping Ill (LI) virus is a member of the TBE virus serocomplex but molecular anlyses indicate that it is distinct from other members of the group (McGuire et al, 1998).…”