Santonja et al.
Rückblick auf die FSME-Situation 2018, geprägt von sehr hoher Virusaktivität
[Review of the TBE situation in 2018, marked by a very high virus activity]
Virusepidemiologische Information 02/19
www.virologie.meduniwien.ac.at
After the implementation of TBE vaccination in Austria, the number of yearly reported cases declined significantly from more than 600 to about 50 -100. In 2018 however, 154 TBE cases were seen in Austria – after 123 cases in 2017 – and thus, this is the second year in series with more than 100 cases. A high number of cases have also been reported from the neighboring countries Switzerland and Germany.
Most cases were reported from the following provinces: Upper Austria, Tyrol, Styria and Salzburg. TBE cases have been observed from April to December 2018 with a peak in June and July. The youngest patient was 3 years old, the oldest patient was 87 years of age. 18.2% of the patients were under 15 years of age. Five patients died (2.5%). These data document an ongoing high risk to acquire TBE in Austria and an exceptionally high virus activity in Central Europe in 2018.