Lumpy encephalitis in children can go unnoticed and only appear years later

Ankylosing spondylitis (TBE) is used to consider children as a milder disease than adults. Therefore, vaccinating young children has not always been considered important.

If the disease seems easier, the risk also seems lower.

Pediatrician, docent of pediatrics at the University of Helsinki and the doctor in charge of Suomen Rokotepalvelu Oy Jukka Vakkilan according to the idea can be misleading. According to him, a mild and vague acute phase does not mean that the disease cannot later leave traces on memory, learning or school attendance.

In a small child, an acute disease can appear as fatigue, irritability, clumsiness or fever, and you may not even be able to suspect lupus encephalitis. Cases may go unrecognized because the symptoms are often milder and more vague than in adults.

If the diagnosis is not made, later memory problems or changes in behavior cannot be linked to the acquired infection.

Ankylosing spondylitis diagnosed cases have increased in Finland. According to THL to the infectious disease register a total of 232 cases were reported in 2025, compared to 195 a year earlier.

Based on research lupus encephalitis can leave children with long-term cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as difficulties with memory, concentration and task control.

Research evidence also suggests that children may be left with, for example, headaches, fatigue and irritability. It is not yet known exactly how common these disadvantages are in children, because there are few studies and the data is small.

A severe acute disease increases the risk, but later neurological symptoms can occur even when the initial phase did not seem particularly serious.

In Vakkila’s opinion, it would be reasonable to follow up all diagnosed child patients for another six months or a year after the illness.

Vakkilan according to estimates, up to 20–30 percent of those affected by tick-borne encephalitis may be children and young people, although the exact number is not known.

He justifies his assessment by the fact that children make up about a fifth of the population and are exposed to tick bites when they are outdoors a lot.

Vakkila emphasizes that it is a matter of reasoning and not register information. In his estimation, the vaccination coverage of children is also quite low, in the range of 10–20 percent. There is no exact official information about this either.

The TBE vaccine is included in risk areas to the national vaccination program. People who live or stay in the area for a long time get a free vaccination.

Those three years of age and older are eligible for the vaccine. However, the vaccine can be given from the age of one.