TBE tick vaccination: What are the side effects?

The most important things in brief

• As with other vaccinations against serious diseases, the human body is also warned of possible invaders with the TBE vaccination.
• If TBE pathogens are actually transmitted by ticks, the immune system kicks in.
• Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis is done with killed viruses, it can cause some rather harmless side effects, but these will disappear quickly.
• It is the only way to protect yourself from TBE.

Since there have been vaccines against Corona, false reports about "long-term effects" have been spread on the Internet - and in general the usefulness of vaccinations is questioned. Scientifically, this is of course going in the completely wrong direction, because the fear of the harmless vaccination is often greater than the real danger that an illness can pose. This also applies to tick-borne encephalitis - vaccination is the only way to protect yourself from the disease. And there are no long-term consequences of a vaccination anyway.

TBE: the dangerous consequences of a tick bite

Tick-borne encephalitis is no joke. Anyone who is bitten or stung by a tick infected with the TBE virus initially has no symptoms, but after a few days or weeks a flu-like illness sets in. Body aches, headaches and fever are common symptoms. For most people, these signs go away after a few days - and with any luck you'll now have lifelong immunity to TBE.

But in up to 15 percent of all those affected, the indications of tick-borne encephalitis do not stop there. About five days after the first symptoms, meningitis develops, i.e. meningitis - and it can even spread to the brain (meningoencephalitis). In the worst case, typically acute symptoms are paralysis and clouding of consciousness. Weeks and months later, patients complain about long-term damage such as dizziness, headaches, tiredness, sleep disorders or problems with concentration and memory.

TBE: Vaccination with harmless side effects

In most cases, these effects will pass, but in more severe cases, long-term damage remains. However, tick-borne encephalitis can even lead to death in one in a hundred sufferers – typically the elderly.

Now to the good news: Vaccination against TBE is actually the only option to ward off tick-borne encephalitis. And yes, side effects can occur, but they occur in up to a third of the people who are vaccinated and almost always go away on their own after a maximum of two days. Nausea, muscle pain, tiredness, joint pain and headaches are typical symptoms, rarely fever. Neurological and anaphylactic reactions to vaccination occur in only 0.0014 to 0.0001 percent of all cases.

Structure of the TBE vaccination

Three injections are required for both children and adults to achieve full protection. Two vaccines are on the market, they are considered equivalent and also interchangeable, so they can also be combined. The second injection should be given approximately four weeks to three months after the first injection to provide approximately a 98 percent level of protection against meningoencephalitis that lasts for a year. In the case of a rapid vaccination, there should be at least 14 days between the first and the second and five months between the second and the third injection.

The third vaccination should be given within a maximum of one year after the second vaccination. Only then is the protection permanent – ​​five to ten years – at 99 percent. After this time, a booster vaccination is recommended. Incidentally, it is always advisable to take care of tick protection yourself.