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Updated: May 28, 2026
07:21
Tick Microbiome Characterization by Next-Generation 16S rRNA Amplicon Sequencing
Published on: August 25, 2018
Current Knowledge on Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Interaction with Ticks: Acquisition, Dissemination, and
Gabrielle Trozzi1, Charlotte Sohier1, Nick De Regge1
1Exotic and Vector-Borne Diseases, Sciensano, Groeselenberg 99, 1180 Brussels, Belgium.
Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland)
|May 27, 2026
Summary
Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) infects ticks, causing neurological disease. This review explores TBEV acquisition, spread, and persistence in ticks, highlighting knowledge gaps in tick-host interactions and viral mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Arthropod-borne viruses
- Virology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) causes severe human neurological illness in Europe and Asia.
- TBEV is maintained via complex tick-host-environment interactions.
- Understanding TBEV-tick dynamics is crucial for disease control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current knowledge on TBEV interactions within tick vectors.
- To focus on virus acquisition, dissemination, vector competence, and persistence.
- To identify knowledge gaps in TBEV-tick relationships.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of TBEV-tick interactions.
- Analysis of virus acquisition routes (blood feeding, co-feeding, transovarial transmission).
- Examination of viral dissemination pathways (midgut, hemolymph, salivary glands, reproductive organs).
Main Results:
- TBEV infects ticks via blood meals or co-feeding; transovarial transmission is low/variable.
- Virus disseminates to salivary glands and reproductive organs, enabling persistence and transmission.
- Vector competence varies by tick species, influenced by intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
Conclusions:
- Transstadial and transovarial transmission contribute to TBEV maintenance but are inefficient.
- In vitro models aid understanding, but gaps remain in early tick-host interface events and viral dissemination mechanisms.
- Further research is needed on TBEV's early interactions and persistence within ticks.
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