Volume 19, Number 5—May 2013
Dispatch
Tick-borne Encephalitis Associated with Consumption of Raw Goat Milk, Slovenia, 2012
Table
Epidemiologic characteristics of persons in whom tick-borne encephalitis developed after drinking raw goat milk. Slovenia, 2012*
Patient no., age, y/sex |
Date(s) milk consumed |
Illness phase | Date(s) serum sample obtained |
|||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First |
Second |
Virologic testing |
||||||||
Onset date; clinical signs; duration |
Onset date; clinical signs; duration |
TBEV ELISA |
TBEV NT |
TBEV rRT-PCR |
||||||
IgM |
IgG |
|||||||||
1, 31/M |
Apr 18 |
Apr 20; fever (38.0°C), chills, headache, vomiting, muscle aches, sore throat, sensitivity to light; nearly 1 wk |
May 5; fever (39.8°C), headache, nausea, vomiting, photophobia, poor concentration, blurred vision, tremor; improvement after 8 d |
May 8 |
Pos |
Pos |
Pos |
Neg |
||
2, 59/F |
Apr 18 |
Apr 20; fever (<38.6°C), chills, malaise, loose stools; 5 d |
May 3; fever (38.5°C) for 6 d, headache, nausea, confusion, visual disturbances, tremor; marked improvement after 12 d |
May 8 |
Pos |
Pos |
Pos |
Neg |
||
3, 32/M | Apr 17, 18, 20 | Apr 20; fever (39.5°C); chills, fatigue, muscle pain; 4 d | Not ill | May 15 | Pos | Pos | Pos | Neg | ||
Jun 6 |
Pos |
Pos |
Pos |
ND |
||||||
4, 28/M | Apr 18 | Not ill | Not ill | May 15 | Neg | Pos | Pos | Neg | ||
Jun 6 | Neg | Pos | Pos | ND |
*Except for patient 4, no patients were vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis. For patients 1 and 2, the incubation period was 2 d; for patient 3, the incubation period was 2–3 d. Patient 1 refused hospitalization and was treated as an outpatient; patient 2 was hospitalized for 8 d; patient 3 did not seek medical care. TBEV, tick-borne encephalitis virus; NT, neutralization test; rRT-PCR, real-time reverse transcription PCR; Pos, positive; Neg, negative; ND, not done.