Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a viral disease of the central nervous system transmitted through bites of certain vector ticks. It should be considered as a general term encompassing at least three diseases caused by similar flaviviruses, whose range spans an area from the British Isles (Louping ill), across Europe (Central European tick-borne encephalitis), to far eastern Russia (Russian spring-summer encephalitis).

• Pathogen
• Distribution
• Pathogenesis and transmission
• Diagnosis
• Clinical signs
• Treatment

TBE is considered to be the most relevant and dangerous zoonosis in North-east Europe, but also emerging in northern and central regions of the continent. Dogs probably constitute no important risk factor for humans, as common ticks like the Castor Bean tick, Ixodes ricinus, and the Taiga tick, Ixodes persulcatus, are thought to be the reservoir of the pathogen.