Page 151 - TBE_Book_V2_2019

Chapter 8: TBE in animals

Figure 1 Figure 2

A Rottweiler during recovery after chronic disease Acute head pressing with concurrent compulsive
over 3 months – remarkable weight loss due to walking and disorientation on day 2 of a dog with
systemic muscle atrophy. TBE.

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Republic 3.3–11.3%, 10,11 Norway 16.4%, Figure 3
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Finland 6–40%, and Austria 13.3–24%. 3,14 As
inclusion criteria were different regarding the
presence of clinical symptoms, residence, and
tick-exposure of the examined dogs, results
are difficult to compare (Table 1). Different
test systems (enzyme-linked immunosorbent
assay [ELISA], serum neutralization test [SNT])
used in these studies clearly influenced the
results too. TBE has always been stated to be
a tick-borne infection, mainly transmitted by
ixodid ticks; however, Dermacentor reticulatus
ticks may play an important role in trans-
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mission to dogs. There has been one single
case of a dog from the Czech Republic with a
TBE-infection suspected to be due to con-
10
sumption of raw goat milk.

Course of disease A male Spitz with central vestibular dysfunction
and left-sided Horner syndrome during acute TBE.
Despite frequent TBE infection in dogs, most
dogs do not develop any clinical signs. Dogs 1–2 weeks (31–59%). Infrequently, prolonged
seem to be less susceptible than humans, disease courses are described with long time
although a lethal outcome within the first period to remission (12–25%). These dogs
week of disease is documented in 16–50% of frequently suffer from late sequela–like
clinically symptomatic cases in dogs. Infection paresis, muscle atrophy, epileptic seizures, or
may lead to an acute course of the disease, blindness (Figure 1). 10,16,17
with complete remission of symptoms within

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