2023-07-07 15:09:00
Faced with the increase in the incidence of the disease in Europe and the extension of the area and period of circulation of the virus, infections by the tick-borne encephalitis virus have been listed, since May 2021, on the list of notifiable diseases.
From May 2021 to May 2023, 71 cases were notified (30 in 2021, 36 in 2022, 5 in 2023), indicates the health agency Public Health France (SpF) this Friday.
“Central Nervous System Injury”
The majority were male, the median age was 48. But four children, two of whom were under 10, and five seniors over 65 – age being an increased severity factor – were affected.
If the maladie to “very low lethality”it causes, in symptomatic cases, “significant sequelae following damage to the central nervous system”noted Alexandra Mailles, of SpF, during a press conference.
Some of the cases (15%) exercised professions that exposed them particularly, in particular in the breeding of horses/ruminants or in the forests.
Possible transmission through raw milk products
The virus is transmitted to humans mainly by the bite of an infested tick, mainly from spring to autumn (period of tick activity).
But transmission can go through infected ruminants, mainly goats, and the virus can be found in raw milk products.
The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region particularly affected
“The infections acquired on the territory and identified are now more numerous than those acquired during travel”notes SpF (86% once morest 14%).
“Unexpectedly, the department that reported the most cases during these two years is Haute-Savoie, while the recognition of the virus is much more recent there than in Alsace”.
The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region now appears to be an important area for the circulation of the virus, with massifs particularly at risk, such as Forez. The south of the Ardèche is also affected.
“We now have the conditions, in a certain number of regions, for transmissions”, pointed out Alexandra Mailles.
Vaccination recommended
To protect yourself, long clothes in the forest or in tall grass and vigilance are recommended.
Vaccination is recommended for travelers to areas of frequent infection.
In Europe, the most affected countries are the Czech Republic, Germany, the Baltic countries. An extension of the disease towards Northern and Eastern Europe is observed.
“With climate change, some countries or regions are becoming more tick-friendly,” according to the SpF expert.
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