The article reported a study that investigated the presence of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) in humans and goats across different regions of Poland. We tested blood samples from 1,498 people and 358 goats, finding that both humans and animals in areas previously considered free of the disease had been exposed to TBEV. The study revealed that the actual spread of the virus was wider than what routine disease surveillance had shown, suggesting that some endemic areas were missed, especially in non-endemic regions. In fact, we documented that the proportion of persons who had contact with the TBE virus did not differ between regions considered TBE-endemic and non-endemic. The findings highlighted the need for better diagnostic protocols and more sensitive surveillance to detect and report TBE cases accurately. The study also suggested that goats could serve as useful indicators of local TBEV presence, as they are less likely to move between regions and thus reflect local infection risks.
This article was particularly important to me, as it summarized several ongoing investigations. I also incorporated the results of historical seroepidemiologic surveys conducted in the 1970s, which I reconstructed from archived, partly unpublished data. The work was presented at an international conference on tick‑borne diseases and published in a supplement of a reputable journal. Although it was initially indexed in PubMed, it was removed a few years later following a policy change that excluded journal supplements from indexing. I remain proud of this publication, as it is well written, peer reviewed, and has been cited extensively.