TY - JOUR AU - Saksida, Ana AU - Jakopin, Nina AU - Jelovšek, Mateja AU - Knap, Nataša AU - Fajs, Luka AU - Lusa, Lara AU - Lotrič-Furlan, Stanka AU - Bogovič, Petra AU - Arnež, Maja AU - Strle, Franc AU - Avšič-Županc, Tatjana T1 - Virus RNA Load in Patients with Tick-Borne Encephalitis, Slovenia T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2018 VL - 24 IS - 7 SP - 1315 SN - 1080-6059 AB - We determined levels of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus (TBEV) RNA in serum samples obtained from 80 patients during the initial phase of TBE in Slovenia. For most samples, levels were within the range of 3–6 log10 copies RNA/mL. Levels were higher in female patients than in male patients, but we found no association between virus load and several laboratory and clinical parameters, including severity of TBE. However, a weak humoral immune response was associated with a more severe disease course, suggesting that inefficient clearance of virus results in a more serious illness. To determine whether a certain genetic lineage of TBEV had a higher virulence potential, we obtained 56 partial envelope protein gene sequences by directly sequencing reverse transcription PCR products from clinical samples of patients. This method provided a large set of patient-derived TBEV sequences. We observed no association between phylogenetic clades and virus load or disease severity. KW - tickborne encephalitis virus KW - (TBEV) KW - viruses KW - arboviruses KW - flavivirus KW - arbovirus infections KW - tickborne diseases KW - tick-borne encephalitis KW - meningitis/encephalitis KW - virus RNA KW - virus load KW - Slovenia KW - ticks KW - vector-borne infections DO - 10.3201/eid2407.180059 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/24/7/18-0059_article ER - End of Reference