{
  "abstract": "Background/objectives\n\nTick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is an emerging vector-borne pathogen in Europe, yet it may be potentially underrecognized in countries reporting few clinical cases. Despite the small number of reported TBE cases, evidence of TBEV circulation in Romania has increased in recent years. Awareness and clinical practices among infectious disease physicians remain insufficiently characterized. This study evaluated changes in knowledge and clinical practices regarding TBEV infection among infectious disease physicians in Romania between 2019 and 2025, following the introduction of TBE vaccination.Methods\n\nWe conducted a repeated cross-sectional survey using the same questionnaire in two independent cohorts of infectious disease physicians in Romania (2019, n = 164; 2025 n = 140). Knowledge of tick-borne diseases, TBEV global and local epidemiology, diagnosis, and clinical practice was evaluated and compared.Results\n\nRecognition of TBEV cases in Romania increased significantly from 95/164 (57.9%) in 2019 to 108/140 (77.1%) in 2025 (p = 0.004), while awareness of vaccination as a preventive measure increased from 37.8% to 65.7% (p < 0.001). However, increased awareness did not translate into increased diagnostic testing: TBEV testing remained limited (25.6% in 2019 vs. 20.0% in 2025) and lack of access to serological testing was the most frequently reported diagnostic barrier (65.5% in 2019 vs. 82.1% in 2025). Awareness of alimentary transmission through unpasteurized dairy products also remained limited.Conclusions\n\nRomanian infectious disease physicians' awareness regarding TBEV improved between 2019 and 2025, but diagnostic practice did not improve accordingly. The persistent gap between awareness and testing capacity may contribute to under recognition of TBE and highlights the need to strengthen diagnostic access alongside physician education and vaccination strategies.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania.",
    "\"Prof. Dr. Matei Bals\" National Institute of Infectious Disease, 021105 Bucharest, Romania.",
    "Department of Infectious Diseases, Bucharest Emergency University Hospital, 050098 Bucharest, Romania.",
    "Marius Nasta Institute of Pneumology, 050159 Bucharest, Romania."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Andreea Madalina Panciu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Cristina Alexandra Cheran",
      "orcid": "0009-0009-7277-8499"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Traian Constantin Panciu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Gheorghita Jugulete",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4193-063X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Adriana Hristea",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6505-1699"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0drv9x54bkqq5.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/epidemiologia7050148",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13703034",
  "id": "0drv9x54bkqq5",
  "issns": [
    "2673-3986"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42930336",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2405|Vector-borne infectious diseases"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223183250",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13703034?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13703034",
  "pmid": "42930336",
  "published": "2026-10-21",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0drv9x54bkqq5.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:22:01Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42930336",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42930336"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2405|Vector-borne infectious diseases",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Changes in Knowledge and Practices Regarding Tick-Borne Encephalitis Among Infectious Disease Physicians in Romania: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Survey.",
  "title_text": "Changes in Knowledge and Practices Regarding Tick-Borne Encephalitis Among Infectious Disease Physicians in Romania: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Survey.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:22:01Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0drv9x54bkqq5",
  "venue": "Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland)",
  "versions": []
}