Detection of new endemic focus of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), Hampshire/Dorset border, England, September 2019

Abstract

The presence of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) was detected in a questing tick pool in southern England in September 2019. Hitherto, TBEV had only been detected in a limited area in eastern England. This southern English viral genome sequence is distinct from TBEV-UK, being most similar to TBEV-NL. The new location of TBEV presence highlights that the diagnosis of tick-borne encephalitis should be considered in encephalitic patients in areas of the United Kingdom outside eastern England.