Botelho-Nevers et al.
Tick-borne encephalitis in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, France, 2017-2018
Emerg. Infect. Dis., in press, doi:10.3201/eid2510.181923
In France, most TBE cases occur in the northeastern area of the country, in the Alsace-Lorraine region, and some cases also in the Alpine region. In 2017 and 2018, three TBE cases have been identified in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in central France in the triangle between Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand and Saint-Etienne. In 2017, a 76-year old man and an 8-year old boy became infected, and in both cases TBE virus specific IgM and IgG could be detected. Both patients recovered without sequelae. In 2018, a 66-year old female farmer suffered from TBE whose serum was IgM and IgG positive for TBE. This patient on the other hand had sequelae three months after the acute infection. For case-patients 1 and 3, TBE was confirmed by plaque-reduction neutralization testing. Testing for case-patient 2 could not be carried out.
These three TBE cases in a so far non-TBE risk region in France highlight the emergence of TBE virus in France and underline that TBE may be underdiagnosed in France.