Clinical and Laboratory Findings on

Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) is an important mosqui-toborne flavivirus infection endemic to Australia and Papua New Guinea. We report the first imported case of MVE in Europe. A 23-year-old tourist developed severe encephalitis after having returned to Germany from a long-term trip across the Australian continent. The diagnosis was suspected on the basis of clinical findings and the patient’s travel his-tory and was confirmed by serological findings. The patient made a prolonged but complete recovery. Our case coincides with a recently reported spread of MVE virus in Australia. This emphasizes the need for continuous surveillance in ar-eas of endemicity and appropriate protection when traveling through regions in which the MVE virus is endemic. Travel history and initial clinical findings. In May 2001, we treated a 23-year-old man from Germany who had been trav