Abstract
The last review on Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in dogs was published almost ten years ago. Since then, this zoonotic tick-borne arbovirus has been geographically spreading and emerging in many regions in Eurasia and continues to do so. Dogs become readily infected with TBE virus but they are accidental hosts not capable to further spread the virus. They seroconvert upon infection but they seem to be much more resistant to the clinical disease than humans. Apart from their use as sentinels in endemic areas, however, an increasing number of case reports appeared during the last decade thus mirroring the rising public health concerns. Owing to the increased mobility of people travelling to endemic areas with their companion dogs, this consequently leads to problems in recognizing and diagnosing this severe infection in a yet non-endemic area, simply because the veterinarians are not considering TBE. This situation warrants an update on the epidemiology, clinical presentation and possible preventions of TBE in the dog.
Highlights
Introduction and epidemiology of TBETick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is the most important tick-borne viral disease of humans in Eurasia with an estimated annual number up to 10,000 cases in Russia and 3,000 cases in Europe [1,2,3,4,5]
Seroprevalence studies in areas of Eurasia where TBE virus is endemic clearly show that dogs are highly susceptible to an infection
Increasing numbers of case reports describing clinical TBE in dogs are found in the recent literature with some coming from previously non-endemic areas
Summary
Seroprevalence studies in areas of Eurasia where TBE virus is endemic clearly show that dogs are highly susceptible to an infection. Increasing numbers of case reports describing clinical TBE in dogs are found in the recent literature with some coming from previously non-endemic areas. This raises concerns with regard to a further geographical expansion of TBE virus-endemic areas, an increasing prevalence of TBE virus in the vector ticks and/or a change in virulence of the TBE virus strains involved. One major aim of this article is to raise awareness of the clinical picture of TBE in dogs so that this diagnosis may be considered in cases of neurological disorders even in yet non-endemic areas, but for example in dogs with a respective travel history. We should monitor TBE virus infections in dogs regardless whether they present with clinical signs or only as a serconversion without an overt clinic
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