[Early summer meningoencephalitis vaccination, a preventive medicine measure with high acceptance in Austria]

The vaccination against Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) was accepted by the Austrian population on a broad scale. Of the estimated 5 million Austrians at risk of TBE, as of 1987 only 1.7 million were unvaccinated. From the very small number of TBE cases despite vaccination we were able to calculate a protection rate of 95% after 2 vaccinations and of 99% after 3 or more vaccinations. Since 1984 as a consequence of the vaccination campaign a steady decline of TBE could be observed in Austria. More than 10 years ago improved procedures enabled the production of a highly purified vaccine, thus reducing the number of side effects to a minimum. We here present data from 2067 vaccinees who reported on eventual side reactions by means of a questionnaire. The reactions reported did not exceed those which could be expected after application of a placebo vaccine. Due to high immunogenicity of the vaccine a booster effect can be achieved even some years after a missed vaccination, precluding the necessity of beginning a new series.