Case of probable transmission of tick-borne encephalitis virus from an unvaccinated mother to an infant through breast-feeding

A recent study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases discusses a case report of the probable vertical transmission of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) from an unvaccinated mother to her newborn via breast milk. TBEV is usually transmitted by tick bites or by the consumption of raw milk of infected sheep, cows, and goats. The mother-to-newborn TBEV transmission through breastfeeding has neither been confirmed nor ruled out. The case report In the present work, the researchers reported a case of TBEV transmission through breast milk from an unvaccinated mother to her newborn. In May 2020, a female aged 29 years complained of temporal headaches, neck stiffness, muscular weakness, and fever (body temperature 38.5°C) that persisted for three to four days. On May 29th, 2020, she was hospitalized at an emergency care health facility. On admission, she reported transient fever a week prior to the hospitalization that persisted for many days. Based on the clinical findings, she...