Tick-Borne Encephalitis

The chance of dying from a TBE infection can range from less than 2% – 40%, dependent on which type of infection you get.²

Being bitten by a tick carrying the virus which causes the disease or by ingesting unpasteurised dairy products (such as milk and cheese) from infected animals.²

Tick-borne encephalitis found in many countries in Europe and Asia (see map). There is greater risk in forested areas.²

Many TBE infections do not show any symptoms. If symptoms do occur, this can take up to 28 days and may include nausea, fever, headache, muscle pain or tiredness.^2,3

Most people recover fully, but in a few cases, infection leads to inflammation of the tissue surrounding the brain (meningitis) and the brain itself (encephalitis). When this happens, symptoms can include confusion, difficulty with speech, weakness or loss of movement in parts of the body and seizures.^2,3

You can take the following precautions to help reduce your risk of infection:

• Visit your nearest convenient pharmacy or specialist travel health clinic for a risk assessment before your trip
• Avoid places – like long grass – where ticks live^3,4
• Use a recommended insect repellent containing either Picaridin, DEET, PMD or OLE (oil of lemon eucalyptus), IR3535 or 2-undecanone⁴
• Wear appropriate clothing (e.g long-sleeved clothes, long trousers, socks and shoes) to minimise exposed skin⁴
• Regularly check for ticks that may have attached themselves to your body.³ Carefully remove any that you find using a tick remover or tweezers. Gently grip the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull it upwards without twisting or crushing. Then wash your skin with water and soap and apply an antiseptic cream.^3,4