What You Need to Know About Tick-Borne Encephalitis and Vaccination

2023-06-21 14:26:34
What do we know about this?

Tick-borne encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain tissue.

Of cause is a virus that is transferred through a tick bite. Just as ticks can be infected with the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, so can they TBE-virus (tick-borne encephalitis). If a tick with the TBE virus bites you, the virus can pass into your blood and a encephalitis cause.

Ticks are active from March to Novemberprecisely the period in which many Europeans plan holidays in nature (1).

In Belgium its sign with TBE virus very rarebut in other countries, especially in Central and Eastern Europe and in Asiathey are on one advance busy (2).

Anyone planning a holiday to these countries and going hiking, camping or trekking in nature, for example, can get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis. There is an effective vaccine against this disease. Basically from this vaccine 3 doses needed for a full vaccination. A full vaccination gives you 3 years protection.In the event of a lack of time, you can go through a accelerated schedule in 2 weeks time 2 doses get (3). A vaccination of 2 doses only gives you temporary protection. The risk of tick-borne encephalitis is greatest June to November. Bron

(1)

How should you interpret this news?

Unlike a tick bite with Lyme, where a red ring forms after the infected bite, a tick appears no red circle infected with the TBE virus after a tick bite.

As a result, the disease often remains in the beginning unnoticed. Sometimes she also passes without you getting sick, but in 1 in 3 you get cases flu-like symptoms. They are followed by confusion, consciousness changes and sometimes neck stiffness. A encephalitis can be serious and is fatal in 0.5 to 2% of victims (2).

The greatest chance of a bite infected with the TBE virus is in shady, densely vegetated nature reserves in high-risk countries.

Here you will find a list of the high-risk countries (3). The risk of infection increases as you get older langer resides in a high-risk country. Also the kind of vacation what you have in mind plays a role. For example, Austria is a high-risk country, but you don’t need a vaccine for a city trip to Vienna. If you go camping or walking in nature in Austria for a few weeks, it is best to get vaccinated.

All information about the vaccine against tick-borne encephalitis can be found at Laatjevaccineren (4).

This vaccine is not refunded and costs approx 40 euros per dose (5).

Conclusion

Not enough attention is paid to vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis, a potentially dangerous infection of the brain. You can incur this during a holiday in nature reserves in Eastern, Central and Northern Europe and in Asia. This infection is spread through ticks that are infected with the TBE virus, a virus that is very rare in our country. There is an effective vaccine that protects you against tick-borne encephalitis. Think about this in good time (at least 2 injections) when you have holiday plans to countries where these ticks occur. Consult Wanda.be and Laatjevaccineren.be for all practical information.

References

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(4) get vaccinated

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