RESEARCH PAPER
Risk of Lyme disease at various sites and workplaces of forestry workers in eastern Poland
 
More details
Hide details
1
Department of Zoonoses, Institute of Rural Health, Lublin, Poland
 
2
Department of Parasitology, National Veterinary Research Institute, Puławy, Poland
 
 
Corresponding author
Ewa Cisak   

Department of Zoonoses, Institute of Rural Health, Lublin, Poland
 
 
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2012;19(3):465-468
 
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Knowledge about the seasonal activity of various stages of the Ixodes ricinus tick is of great importance while developing models of the circulation of pathogens transmitted by ticks in a given environment, as well as while evaluating the risk of infection with these pathogens among individuals performing work in this environment. The objectives of the study was determination of the relative activity of Ixodes ricinus ticks occurring at 4 different workplaces of workers employed in one randomly selected forestry inspectorate, and the comparison of this activity to the Borrelia burgdorferi prevalence in ticks collected from the above-mentioned working stands. Ticks were collected by dragging a woollen flag over lower vegetation and litter along the paths and edges of a forest in July and September 2011 at the following sites and workplaces: acquisition of timber, growing of forest, forest cultivation and forest protection. The relative activity (density) of ticks was determined by means of a combined method of single sample and area sampling. A forest area of approximately 100 m2 was brushed with a flag. The isolates obtained from Ixodes ricinus ticks were examined for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato DNA by polymerase chain reaction, using primers FLA1 and FLA2 specific for the fragment of fla gene sequence. In the statistical analysis, the Mann-Whitney test, χ2 test and Spearman test were applied. The differences between Ixodes ricinus activity at individual places of work where various biotopes were observed, were not statistically significant. A statistically significant variation in the tick infection rate, depending on work stands, was found for all the tick stages, i.e. for nymphs (χ2=76.516, p<0.000001), females (χ2=18.832, p<0.000292) and males (χ2=69.257, p=0.000001). Nevertheless, the statistical analysis showed the significant difference in total infection rates only between timber acquisition and growing of forest sites (p=0.049), and between growing of forest and forest cultivation sites (p=0.049). The study showed also the lack of relationship between the ticks’ activity and Borrelia burgdorferi infection of ticks at individual places and sites of work of forestry workers. In conclusion, forestry workers employed at such stands of work as timber acquisition, growing of forest, forest cultivation and forest protection are nearly at the same risk of Borrelia burgdorferi infection.
 
REFERENCES (41)
1.
Danielová V, Rudenko N, Daniel M, Holubová J, Materna J, Golovchenko M, Schwarzová L. Extension of Ixodes ricinus ticks and agents of tick-borne diseases to mountain areas in the Czech Republic. Int J Med Microbiol. 2006; 296 (Suppl 40): 48-53.
 
2.
Daniel M, Materna J, Honig V, Metelka L, Danielová V, Harcarik J, et al. Vertical distribution of the tick Ixodes ricinus and tick-borne pathogens in the northern Moravian mountains correlated with climate warming (Jeseníky Mts., Czech Republic). Cent Eur J Public Health. 2009; 17(3): 139-145.
 
3.
Nazzi F, Martinelli E, Del Fabbro S, Bernardinelli I, Milani N, Iob A, et al. Ticks and Lyme borreliosis in an alpine area in northeast Italy. Med Vet Entomol. 2010; 24(3): 220-226.
 
4.
Franke J, Hildebrandt A, Meier F, Straube E, Dorn W. Prevalence of Lyme disease agents and several emerging pathogens in questing ticks from the German Baltic coast. J Med Entomol. 2011; 48(2): 441-444.
 
5.
Dutkiewicz J, Cisak E, Sroka J, Wójcik-Fatla A, Zając V. Biological agents as occupational hazards – selected issues. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2011; 18(2): 286-93.
 
6.
Ruiz-Fons F, Fernández-de-Mera IG, Acevedo P, Gortázar C, de la Fuente J. Factors driving the abundance of Ixodes ricinus ticks and the prevalence of zoonotic I. ricinus-borne pathogens in natural foci. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2012; 78(8): 2669-2676.
 
7.
Capelli G, Ravagnan S, Montarsi F, Ciocchetta S, Cazzin S, Porcellato E, et al.Occurrence and identification of risk areas of Ixodes ricinus-borne pathogens: a cost-effectiveness analysis in north-eastern Italy. Parasit Vectors. 2012; 27(5): 61-70.
 
8.
Huegli D, Moret J, Rais O, Moosmann Y, Erard P, Malinverni R, Gern L. Prospective study on the incidence of infection by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato after a tick bite in a highly endemic area of Switzerland. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2011; 2(3): 129-136.
 
9.
Stanek G, Wormser GP, Gray J, Strle F. Lyme borreliosis. Lancet 2012; 379(9814): 461-473.
 
10.
Jameson LJ, Medlock JM. Tick surveillance in Great Britain. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2011; 11(4): 403-412.
 
11.
Kempf F, De Meeûs T, Vaumourin E, Noel V, Taragel‘ová V, Plantard O, et al. Host races in Ixodes ricinus, the European vector of Lyme borreliosis. Infect Genet Evol. 2011; 11(8): 2043-2048.
 
12.
Jaenson TG, Lindgren E. The range of Ixodes ricinus and the risk of contracting Lyme borreliosis will increase northwards when the vegetation period becomes longer. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2011; 2(1): 44-49.
 
13.
Estrada-Peña A, Santos-Silva MM. The distribution of ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) of domestic livestock in Portugal. Exp Appl Acarol. 2005; 36(3): 233-246.
 
14.
Kesteman T, Rossi C, Bastien P, Brouillard J, Avesani V, Olive N, et al. Prevalence and genetic heterogeneity of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Ixodes ticks in Belgium. Acta Clin Belg. 2010; 65(5): 319-322.
 
15.
Richter D, Matuschka FR. “Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis” Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and lyme disease spirochetes in questing european vector ticks and in feeding ticks removed from people. J Clin Microbiol. 2012; 50(3): 943-947.
 
16.
Santos-Silva MM, Beati L, Santos AS, De Sousa R, Núncio MS, Melo P, et al. The hard-tick fauna of mainland Portugal (Acari: Ixodidae): an update on geographical distribution and known associations with hosts and pathogens. Exp Appl Acarol. 2011; 55(1): 85-121.
 
17.
Schicht S, Junge S, Schnieder T, Strube C. Prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and coinfection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the hard tick Ixodes ricinus in the city of Hanover (Germany). Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2011; 11(12): 1595-1597.
 
18.
Cisak E, Chmielewska-Badora J, Dutkiewicz J, Zwoliński J. Preliminary studies on the relationship between Ixodes ricinus activity and tick-borne infection among occupationally-exposed inhabitants of eastern Poland. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2001; 8(2): 293-295.
 
19.
Cisak E, Chmielewska-Badora J, Zwoliński J, Wójcik-Fatla A, Polak J, Dutkiewicz J. Risk of tick-borne bacterial diseases among workers of Roztocze National Park (south-eastern Poland). Ann Agric Environ Med. 2005; 12(1): 127-32.
 
20.
Oehme R, Hartelt K, Backe H, Brockmann S, Kimmig P. Foci of tick-borne diseases in southwest Germany. Int J Med Microbiol. 2002; 291 (Suppl 33): 22-29.
 
21.
Buczek A, Rudek A, Bartosik K, Szymańska J, Wojcik-Fatla A. Seroepidemiological study of Lyme borreliosis among forestry workers in southern Poland. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2009; 16(2): 257-261.
 
22.
Bartosik K, Lachowska-Kotowska P, Szymańska J, Pabis A, Buczek A. Lyme borreliosis in south-eastern Poland: relationships with environmental factors and medical attention standards. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2011; 18(1): 131-137.
 
23.
Wilczyńska U, Szeszenia-Dąbrowska N, Sobala W. [Occupational diseases in Poland, 2009]. Med Pr. 2010; 61: 369-79. Polish.
 
24.
Siński E, Pawełczyk A, Bajer A, Behnke J. Abundance of wild rodents, ticks and environmental risk of Lyme borreliosis: a longitudinal study in an area of Mazury Lakes district of Poland. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2006; 13(2): 295-300.
 
25.
Wójcik-Fatla A, Szymańska J, Zając V. [Relative activity of Ixodes ricinus ticks in forests of the Lublin makroregion]. Med Og. 2009; 3(3): 414-420. Polish.
 
26.
Petko B, Siuda K, Stanko M, Tresová G, Karbowiak G, Fricova J. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the Ixodes ricinus ticks in southern Poland. Ann Agric Environ Med. 1997; 4(2): 263–269.
 
27.
Supergan M, Karbowiak G. The estimation scale of endangerment with tick attacks on recreational towns areas. Przeg Epidemiol. 2009; 63(1): 67-71.
 
28.
Wójcik-Fatla A, Szymańska J, Wdowiak L, Buczek A, Dutkiewicz J. Coincidence of three pathogens (Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti) in Ixodes ricinus ticks in the Lublin macroregion. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2009; 16(1): 151-158.
 
29.
Boyard C, Barnouin J, Bord S, Gasqui P, Vourc’h G. Reproducibility of local environmental factors for the abundance of questing Ixodes ricinus nymphs on pastures. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2011; 2(2): 104-110.
 
30.
Hubalek Z, Halouzka J, Juricova Z, Sikutova S, Rudolf I. Effect of forest clearing on the abundance of Ixodes ricinus ticks and the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. Med Vet Enomol. 2006; 20(2): 166-172.
 
31.
Dautel H, Dippel K, Kämmer D, Werkhausen A, Kahl O. Winter activity of Ixodes ricinus in a Berlin forest. Int J Med Microbiol. 2008; 298 (Suppl1): 50-54.
 
32.
Dobson AD, Taylor JL, Randolph SE. Tick (Ixodes ricinus) abundance and seasonality at recreational sites in the UK: hazards in relation to fine-scale habitat types revealed by complementary sampling methods.Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2011; 2(2): 67-74.
 
33.
Egyed L, Elő P, Sréter-Lancz Z, Széll Z, Balogh Z, Sréter T. Seasonal activity and tick-borne pathogen infection rates of Ixodes ricinus ticks in Hungary. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2012; (3): 90-94.
 
34.
Tack W, Madder M, De Frenne P, Vanhellemont M, Gruwez R, Verheyen K. The effects of sampling method and vegetation type on the estimated abundance of Ixodes ricinus ticks in forests. Exp Appl Acarol. 2011; 54(3): 285-292.
 
35.
Estrada-Peña A, Ortega C, Sánchez N, Desimone L, Sudre B, Suk JE, et al. Correlation of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato prevalence in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks with specific abiotic traits in the western palearctic. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2011; 77(11): 3838-3845.
 
36.
Hancock PA, Brackley R, Palmer SC. Modelling the effect of temperature variation on the seasonal dynamics of Ixodes ricinus tick populations. Int J Parasitol. 2011; 41(5): 513-522.
 
37.
Herrmann C, Gern L. Survival of Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) under challenging conditions of temperature and humidity is influenced by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato infection. J Med Entomol. 2010; 47(6): 1196-1204.
 
38.
Hornok S, Farkas R. Influence of biotope on the distribution and peak activity of questing ixodid ticks in Hungary. Med Vet Entomol. 2009; 23(1): 414-6.
 
39.
Knap N, Durmisi E, Saksida A, Korva M, Petrovec M, Avsic-Zupanc T. Influence of climatic factors on dynamics of questing Ixodes ricinus ticks in Slovenia. Vet Parasitol. 2009; 64(2-4): 275-281.
 
40.
Tijsse-Klasen E, Jacobs JJ, Swart A, Fonville M, Reimerink JH, Brandenburg AH, et al. Small risk of developing symptomatic tick-borne diseases following a tick bite in The Netherlands. Parasit Vectors. 2011; 10(4): 17.
 
41.
Reis C, Cote M, Paul RE, Bonnet S. Questing ticks in suburban forest are infected by at least six tick-borne pathogens. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2011; 11(7): 907-916.
 
eISSN:1898-2263
ISSN:1232-1966
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top