Tick-borne encephalitis virus – what nurses need to know

What do nurses need to know about tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), which has recently arrived in the UK?

Spread by the bite of an infected tick, TBEV can lead to a spectrum of illness including meningitis and encephalitis (swelling of the brain) and is potentially lethal.

This episode hears from Sylviane Defres, a consultant in infectious diseases at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and a senior clinical lecturer at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Dr Defres tells interviewer journalist Erin Dean about the signs and symptoms nurses should be looking out for and how the illness presents and develops.

They discuss the areas that are higher risk in the UK with more infected ticks and what is known about the spread of the virus in the UK.

The importance of public health advice from nurses to protect people from getting bitten by ticks and the availability of a vaccine is also covered.

Dr Defres also shares her top three tips for nurses on TBEV:

• Be aware of the importance of advice on avoiding tick bites as this can protect from TBEV and other tick-borne illness.

• Be vigilant and consider the possibility of TBEV if seeing a patient with relevant symptoms. Ask them if they have been outside in grassy areas working or enjoying the countryside.

• Refer on and seek specialist advice when a patient has possible symptoms which cause concern, especially neurological ones. Patients with neurological signs should be referred to hospital as an emergency.

For more episodes of the Nursing Standard podcast, visit rcni.com/podcast

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