Causes of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE)
Learn about the causes of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and how it is spread.
On this page:
What causes tick-borne encephalitis?
TBE is a disease caused by a Flavivirus that affects the brain and spinal cord.
There are 3 sub-types of the virus that causes the disease:
- European or Western TBE virus
- Siberian TBE virus
- Far Eastern TBE virus
How is tick-borne encephalitis spread?
TBE is spread through:
- the bite of an infected tick
- bites are painless and often unnoticed
- contaminated unpasteurized milk products from infected animals, which include:
- cows
- sheep
- goats