TICK-BORNE ENCEPHALITIS-VIRUS ACTIVITY IN STYRIA, AUSTRIA

From 3 404 Ixodes ricinus ticks collected in 12 localities of Styria, Austria in 1990, 15 tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus isolates were recovered. Minimal field infection rate reached 4.4 virus containing t icks out of 1 000 collected ticks. Five isolates of TBE virus were obt ained from target organs of Apodemus flavicollis trapped in locality W agnitz. In a serosurvey based on virus neutralizing antibodies high pr evalence of TBE virus was demonstrated in A. flavicollis (47.9 %) and Clethrionomys glareolus (29.4 %). These rodents formed 57.8 % and 41.0 % of 83 trapped small mammals.