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Immunizations - travel vaccinations - Management
When is tick-borne encephalitis vaccine indicated?
- Give tick-borne encephalitis vaccination to anyone who:
- Intends to live in tick-borne encephalitis-endemic areas.
- Is at occupational risk in endemic areas (e.g. farmers, forestry workers, soldiers).
- Intends to travel to rural endemic areas during late spring and summer (e.g. campers, hikers, Scout and Guide groups).
Clarification / Additional information
- The risk of acquiring tick-borne encephalitis can be reduced by insect bite avoidance methods. Travellers should be advised to:
- Wear clothing with long sleeves and long trousers (tucked into socks), which can be treated with insecticide sprays such as permethrin.
- Apply insect repellent (e.g. DEET) to exposed skin.
- Check the body for ticks regularly. After a tick has attached itself to the host it may not start feeding for 12 hours. The larval form of Ixodes ticks are tiny and difficult to see. Adult ticks, once they have fed and become engorged, may be the size of a coffee bean. Common areas for ticks to attach are at the hair-line, behind the ears, inside the elbows, backs of knees, groin, and armpits.
- Remove ticks as soon as possible using a pair of tweezers. The tweezers should be placed as close as possible to the skin and then the tick pulled slowly, ensuring the mouth parts are removed completely. Evidence suggests that the slow, straight method is best for removal without leaving the mouthparts. Care needs to be taken not to squeeze the stomach contents into the site of the bite, as this can increase the chance of infection.
- Avoid unpasteurized dairy products.
- These precautions apply to all people, whether or not they have been vaccinated.
[NaTHNaC, 2006]
Basis for recommendation
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