New tick-borne encephalitis virus hot spot in Northern Zealand, Denmark, October 2019

TY - JOUR

T1 - New tick-borne encephalitis virus hot spot in Northern Zealand, Denmark, October 2019

AU - Agergaard, Charlotte N.

AU - Rosenstierne, Maiken W.

AU - Bødker, René

AU - Rasmussen, Morten

AU - Andersen, Peter H.S.

AU - Fomsgaard, Anders

PY - 2019/10/24

Y1 - 2019/10/24

N2 - During summer 2019, three patients residing by Tisvilde Hegn, Denmark were hospitalised with tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) after tick bites. A new TBE virus (TBEV) micro-focus was identified in tick nymphs collected around a playground in Tisvilde Hegn forest. Estimated TBEV prevalence was 8%, higher than in endemic areas around Europe. Whole genome sequencing showed clustering to a TBEV strain from Norway. This is the second time TBEV is found in Ixodes ricinus outside Bornholm, Denmark. Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), a member of the family Flaviviridae, genus flavivirus, causes tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). In Denmark, TBE is endemic only on the island Bornholm, with an incidence of 4 per 100,000 inhabitants per year [1,2]. Here we report three clinical cases of TBE in patients hospitalised within a month and all residing at the boundary of the same forest, Tisvilde Hegn, in Northern Zealand.

AB - During summer 2019, three patients residing by Tisvilde Hegn, Denmark were hospitalised with tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) after tick bites. A new TBE virus (TBEV) micro-focus was identified in tick nymphs collected around a playground in Tisvilde Hegn forest. Estimated TBEV prevalence was 8%, higher than in endemic areas around Europe. Whole genome sequencing showed clustering to a TBEV strain from Norway. This is the second time TBEV is found in Ixodes ricinus outside Bornholm, Denmark. Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), a member of the family Flaviviridae, genus flavivirus, causes tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). In Denmark, TBE is endemic only on the island Bornholm, with an incidence of 4 per 100,000 inhabitants per year [1,2]. Here we report three clinical cases of TBE in patients hospitalised within a month and all residing at the boundary of the same forest, Tisvilde Hegn, in Northern Zealand.

KW - Denmark

KW - Ixodes ricinus

KW - meningoencephalitis

KW - Northern Zealand

KW - phylogenetic analysis

KW - Tick-borne encephalitis

KW - tick-borne encephalitis virus

U2 - 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2019.24.43.1900639

DO - 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2019.24.43.1900639

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 31662158

AN - SCOPUS:85074287806

SN - 1025-496X

VL - 24

JO - Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin

JF - Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin

IS - 43

ER -