Epidemiology of Lyme disease among workers of forest inspectorates in Poland
Journal Title: Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine - Year 2013, Vol 20, Issue 2
Abstract
Introduction. Lyme disease (Lyme borreliosis, LB) is a systemic tick-borne disease. Its symptoms include dermatological changes and systemic manifestations such as musculoskeletal, neurologic, and cardiac. The etiologic agent of LB is a spirochete known as Borrelia burgdorferi (B.b.) with rodents and small mammals as its animal reservoir. In Poland, there are approximately 9–10 cases of the disease per 100,000 inhabitants each year. Objective. Analyis of the incidence of Lyme borreliosis and the clinical picture of the disease among foresters. Material and methods. The research material consisted of data collected in a diagnostic survey conducted by use of a survey questionnaire method. The study involved 100 randomly selected workers of the forest inspectorate in Podkarpackie Voivodeship. Group I consisted of men between 30–45 years old with an average length of service of 14 years (48%); group II consisted of men between 45–55 years old with an average length of service of 24 years (52%). Results. Only 25% of the foresters from the first group, younger in age and with shorter service, had never been bitten by a tick, while 60% were bitten once, and 15% had been repeatedly bitten. In the second group, older in age and with longer service, only 3% had never been bitten by a tick, 35% were bitten once, while 62% had been repeatedly bitten. LB was diagnosed in 30% of the research participants from the first group and in 45% from the second group. Most frequently, LB was diagnosed as a result of the presence of erythema migrans (55%), ELISA test (20%), and Western Blot test (22%). The most frequent symptoms among the participants were: erythema migrans (45%), fever and shivers (35%), muscle pain and cramps (15%), other symptoms (5%). Permanent presence of symptoms was reported by 70% of the participants, 25% experienced symptoms periodically, and 5% only sporadically. Conclusions. LB occurs more frequently among foresters older in age and with longer service (45%); in the younger group – 30%. Despite knowledge on preventive methods, there is no effective preventive method for this disease.
Authors and Affiliations
Anna Lewandowska, Zofia Kruba, Rafał Filip
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP80626
- DOI -
- Views 102
- Downloads 0
Effects of disinfectant fogging procedure on dust, ammonia concentration, aerobic bacteria and fungal spores in a farrowing-weaning room
Introduction and Objective. In the last decades, large-scale swine production has led to intensive rearing systems in which air quality can be easily degraded by aerial contaminants that can pose a health risk to the pig...
Level and conditioning of knowledge about breast cancer displayed by women in perimenopausal age
[b]Introduction.[/b] Women aged 50–69 are the most likely to develop breast cancer. Knowledge about breast tumours as well as regular examination are two of the key factors which reduce the risk of the disease, and incre...
Hematological alternations after pyrethroids poisoning in mice.
The aim of the study was evaluation of the effect of alpha-cypermethrin, deltamethrin or fenvalerate poisoning on hematological parameters in male and female Swiss mice in sub-acute poisoning. All pyrethroids examined, i...
Psychosocial factors and health-related behavior among students from South-East Poland.
The aim of this study was to determine the meaning of selected social-demographic factors, such as: gender, place of resident, education, level of knowledge about health and life orientation in modifying the behaviours r...
The use of oncolytic viruses in selected tumours
Introduction: Neoplastic diseases are the leading cause of death among adults. Despite significant advances in pharmacotherapy, advanced radiotherapy and high level of oncology surgery still the effects of a treatment ar...