Consistent patterns in the contact of small mammals with tick-borne encephalitis virus in foci of the eastern part of the Russian plain.

The pattern of contact between small terrestrial mammals and tick-borne encephalitis virus was studied in dependence on year, yearly season and the age of the largest animal populations. The animal-virus contact was assessed by the appearance, persistence and loss of antibodies in the animals examined. A total of 9256 sera of small rodents were collected and tested in this study.