We compared 2 tick-borne encephalitis virus strains isolated from 2 different foci that cause different symptoms in tick-borne encephalitis patients, from neurologic to mild gastrointestinal symptoms. We compared neuroinvasiveness, neurovirulence, and proinflammatory cytokine response in mice and found unique differences that contribute to our understanding of pathogenesis.
Keywords: Germany; Sweden; Tick-borne encephalitis virus; arboviral diseases; flavivirus; pathogenesis; tick-borne encephalitis; ticks; vector-borne infections; viruses.