Tick-borne Encephalitis (TBE), which is caused by a Flavivirus, is the most 
common tick-transmitted disease in Central and Eastern Europe and Russia. Today, 
TBE is endemic in 27 European countries, and has become an international public 
health problem. The epidemiology of TBE is changing owing to various factors, 
such as improvements in diagnosis and case reporting, increased recreational 
activities in areas populated by ticks, and changes in climatic conditions 
affecting tick habitats. Vaccination remains the most effective protective 
measure against TBE for people living in risk zones, occupationally exposed 
subjects and travelers to endemic areas. The vaccines currently in use are 
FSME-Immun(®), Encepur(®), EnceVir(®) and TBE vaccine Moscow(®). The numerous 
studies performed on the efficacy and safety of these vaccines have shown a high 
level of immunogenicity and an excellent safety profile. Several studies have 
also shown a high level of cross-protection among strains belonging to different 
subtypes.   In the present paper we attempted to describe the continuously 
changing epidemiology of TBE in European States and to overview clinical 
development of available vaccines paying particular attention on 
cross-protection elicited by the vaccines.