The disease risk is tied to the Balkans tick and insect season of March through September. Symptoms range from a fever and flu-like illness to encephalitis, a rare, potentially fatal brain inflammation. They are transmitted by direct contact with or inhalation of nasal and throat discharges of infected persons. The disease is more prevalent in the winter months. The most recent outbreak in Kosovo was in 1994, when 250 schoolchildren came down with the disease.
Symptoms usually appear three to four days after exposure.
Other diseases endemic to the Balkans include hepatitis, leishmaniasis, Lyme disease, tuberculosis and leprosy. Bailey found that U.S. medical forces now in the Balkans have received strong support from military commanders. The medical teams are doing a superior job, she said. Medics brief Dr. Sue Bailey, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, during a visit to Tirana, Albania. Bailey was checking out medical protection efforts of U.S. forces in the Balkans.