Casati et al.
First detection of TBE virus in ticks and sero-reactivity in goats in a non-endemic region in the southern part of Switzerland (Canton of Ticino)

In Switzerland, TBE is a notifiable disease and the number of cases is fluctuating annually with a trend of increasing numbers since 1984. In parallel, the number of TBE risk areas have increased in Switzerland. Consequently, the whole country is now regarded as a TBE risk area except the cantons Geneva and Ticino, and recently, vaccination recommendations have been adapted to this new epidemiological situation (see Snapshot week 8/2019). While the canton of Ticino is regarded as a non-endemic area, as no autochthonic cases have ever been reported, analyses of ticks collected by flagging and analyses of sera from goats show that the TBE virus is also circulating in Ticino. Among a total of 12.052 ticks collected, one positive pool (of 1.371 in total) of nymphs located in Valle Maggia was RT-PCR positive. A total of 662 samples of goat sera from 37 different flocks have been analyzed and in several flocks ELISA positive TBE antibodies and neutralizing TBE antibodies could be verified. In addition, one serum from a goat owner was found TBE positive in an ELISA test, but could not be confirmed by neutralization assay. These data show the presence of the TBE virus in Ticino, but due to the absence of reported TBE cases this canton, it continues to be regarded as a non-endemic area.

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