The aim of this review is to present briefly background information on 27 tick-borne viruses ("tiboviruses") that have been detected in Europe, viz flaviviruses tick-borne encephalitis (TBEV), louping-ill (LIV), Tyuleniy (TYUV), and Meaban (MEAV); orthobunyaviruses Bahig (BAHV) and Matruh (MTRV); phleboviruses Grand Arbaud (GAV), Ponteves (PTVV), Uukuniemi (UUKV), Zaliv Terpeniya (ZTV), and St. Abb's Head (SAHV); nairoviruses Soldado (SOLV), Puffin Island (PIV), Avalon (AVAV), Clo Mor (CMV), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHFV); bunyavirus Bhanja (BHAV); coltivirus Eyach (EYAV); orbiviruses Tribec (TRBV), Okhotskiy (OKHV), Cape Wrath (CWV), Mykines (MYKV), Tindholmur (TDMV), and Bauline (BAUV); two thogotoviruses (Thogoto THOV, Dhori DHOV); and one asfivirus (African swine fever virus ASFV). Emphasis is laid on the taxonomic status of these viruses, range of their ixodid or argasid vectors and vertebrate hosts, pathogenicity for vertebrates including humans, and relevance to public health. In general, three groups of tibovirus diseases can be recognized according to main clinical symptoms produced: (i) febrile illness-usually with a rapid onset, fever, sweating, headache, nausea, weakness, myalgia, arthralgia, sometimes polyarthritis and rash; (ii) the CNS affection-meningitis, meningoencephalitis or encephalomyelitis with pareses, paralysis and other sequelae; (iii) hemorrhagic disease. Several "European" tiboviruses cause very serious human (TBEV, CCHFV) or animal (LIV, ASFV) diseases. Other arboviruses play definite role in human or animal pathology though the disease is usually either less serious or infrequently reported (TYUV, BHAV, AVAV, EYAV, TRBV, DHOV, THOV). The other European arboviruses are "orphans" without a proven medical or veterinary significance (BAHV, MTRV, MEAV, GAV, PTVV, ZTV, SAHV, UUKV, SOLV, PIV, AVAV, CMV, OKHV, CWV, MYKV, TDMV, BAUV). However, certain arbovirus diseases of free-living vertebrates (but also those of domestic animals and even man) may often pass unnoticed or misdiagnosed and eventually, they might potentially appear as emerging diseases. Active search for new tiboviruses or for new, pathogenic variants of the known tiboviruses in Europe should therefore continue.

• MeSH
• Disease Vectors MeSH
• Ticks virology   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Tick-Borne Diseases virology   MeSH
• Virus Diseases virology   MeSH
• Viruses classification   isolation & purification   pathogenicity   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Review MeSH
• Geographicals
• Europe MeSH

Bhanja virus (BHAV) is pathogenic for young domestic ruminants and also for humans, causing fever and affections of the central nervous system. This generally neglected arbovirus of the family Bunyaviridae is transmitted by metastriate ticks of the genera Haemaphysalis, Dermacentor, Hyalomma, Rhipicephalus, Boophilus, and Amblyomma. Geographic distribution of BHAV covers southern and Central Asia, Africa, and southern (partially also central) Europe. Comparative biogeographic study of eight known natural foci of BHAV infections in Europe (in Italy, Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovakia) has revealed their common features. (1) submediterranean climatic pattern with dry growing season and wet mild winter (or microlimatically similar conditions, e.g., limestone karst areas in central Europe), (2) xerothermic woodland-grassland ecosystem, with plant alliances Quercetalia pubescentis, Festucetalia valesiacae, and Brometalia erecti, involving pastoral areas, (3) presence of at least one of the tick species Haemaphysalis punctata, Dermacentor marginatus, Rhipicephalus bursa, and/or Hyalomma marginatum, and (4) presence of >/=60% of the 180 BHAV bioindicator (157 plant, 4 ixodid tick, and 19 vertebrate spp.). On that basis, Greece, France (southern, including Corsica), Albania, Spain, Hungary, European Turkey, Ukraine (southern), Switzerland (southern), Austria (southeastern), Germany (southern), Moldova, and European Russia (southern) have been predicted as additional European regions where BHAV might occur.

• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH