Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

Systematic review on the non-vectorial transmission of Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEv)

  • Elisa Martello*
  • , Emma L. Gillingham
  • , Revati Phalkey
  • , Constantine Vardavas
  • , Katerina Nikitara
  • , Tamas Bakonyi
  • , Céline M. Gossner
  • , Jo Leonardi-Bee
  • *Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    42 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is an infection caused by the Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEv) and it is common in Europe. The virus is predominantly transmitted by ticks, but other non-vectorial modes of transmission are possible. This systematic review synthesises the epidemiological impact of non-vectorial modes of TBEv transmission in Europe. 41 studies were included comprising of 1308 TBE cases. Alimentary (36 studies), handling infected material (3 studies), blood-borne (1 study), solid organ transplant (1 study) were identified as potential routes of TBEv transmission; however, no evidence of vertical transmission from mother to offspring was reported (2 studies). Consumption of unpasteurised milk/milk products was the most common vehicle of transmission and significantly increased the risk of TBE by three-fold (pooled RR 3.05, 95% CI 1.53 to 6.11; 4 studies). This review also confirms handling infected material, blood-borne and solid organ transplant as potential routes of TBEv transmission. It is important to tracing back to find the vehicle of the viral infection and to promote vaccination as it remains a mainstay for the prevention of TBE.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number102028
    JournalTicks and Tick-borne Diseases
    Volume13
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Nov 2022

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    The authors thank the following colleagues from the ECDC for their help with translations of full text papers: Grazina Mirinaviciute, Boguslaw Andrzej Suski, and Barbora Kinross. The authors would also like to thank Johanna Takkinen for her comments on the project report.

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2022

    UN SDGs

    This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
      SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

    Keywords

    • Alimentary
    • Blood-borne
    • Meta-analysis
    • TBE
    • Unpasteurized milk
    • Vertical transmission

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Systematic review on the non-vectorial transmission of Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEv)'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this