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Background: Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is one of the most significant arboviruses affecting the human central nervous system (CNS) in Europe. Data on cytokine response in TBEV infection are limited. Methods: We analyzed the cytokine response in serum, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and urine samples of patients with TBE. The control group consisted of patients with ‘febrile headache’ who had normal CSF cytology. The panel included 12 cytokines: TNF-α, IL-6, Th1 (IL-2, IFN-γ), Th2 (IL-4, IL-5, IL-13), Th9 (IL-9), Th17 (IL-17A, IL-17F), Th22 (IL-22) cytokines and IL-10. Results: TBE patients were more likely to have increased levels of IL-6 and IFN-γ in CSF compared to controls (85.7% vs. 58.8% and 85.7% vs. 47.1%, respectively). However, concentrations of IL-6 (the most abundant cytokine in the CSF of both groups), IL-10 and IL-9 were lower in TBEV patients compared with controls, but the difference was statistically significant for IL-9 only (p = 0.001). By analyzing the cytokine levels in different clinical samples, all measured cytokines were detected in the serum, with the highest concentrations found for IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-10, IL-17F and IL-22. Higher concentrations of cytokines in the CSF compared with serum were observed for IL-5, IL-6 and IL-22. All cytokines except IL-13 were detectable in urine but in a small proportion of patients, except for IL-22, which was detectable in 95.8% of patients. Conclusions: Cytokine composition in different clinical samples of TBE patients reveals a different network of early innate immune response cytokines, Th1, Th2, Th9, Th22, Th17 and anti-inflammatory cytokines.

Seronegative women are susceptible to primary rubella virus (RV) infection during pregnancy, which can cause fetal damage. Vaccination represents the main strategy in rubella prevention. The aim of this study was to analyze changes in the rubella seroprevalence and identify populations with a high susceptibility to RV. A cross-sectional study was performed on 6914 Caucasian fertile women who had Toxoplasma gondii, other viruses, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus, and the herpes simplex virus (TORCH) screening in two distinct periods—1452 at the Timișoara Municipal Hospital, Romania (Group 1: 2008–2010) and 5462 at the laboratory Bioclinica S.A., Timișoara, Romania (Group 2: 2015–2018). The RV seroprevalence decreased (Group 1 versus Group 2; 94.1% (92.7–95.2) versus 91.4% (90.6–92.1), OR = 0.76 (p = 0.0007)). According to the year of birth and eligibility to vaccination program, RV seroprevalence rates were 82.4% (76.8–86.8)/1997–2004, 85.4% (80.5–89.3)/1995–1996, 90.1% (89.0–91.1)/