Prevalence of serological response to Borrelia burgdorferi in farmers from eastern and central Poland

• Published in: European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases Vol. 36; no. 3; pp. 437 - 446
• Main Authors: Zając, V., Pinkas, J., Wójcik-Fatla, A., Dutkiewicz, J., Owoc, A., Bojar, I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.03.2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Animals; Antibiotics; Antibodies; Antibodies, Bacterial - blood; Antigens; Arachnids; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Borrelia burgdorferi - immunology; Disease prevention; Farmers; Female; Health care; Humans; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Immunoglobulin M - blood; Infections; Internal Medicine; Lyme disease; Male; Medical Microbiology; Middle Aged; Occupational Exposure; Original; Original Article; Parasitic diseases; Poland - epidemiology; Preventive medicine; Public health; Questionnaires; Risk Factors; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Serology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tick Bites; Tick Control - methods; Tick-Borne Diseases - epidemiology; Poland; United States > US; Lyme Disease; Lyme Borreliosis; Tick Bite; Borrelia Burgdorferi; Occupational Disease
• ISSN: 0934-9723; 1435-4373
• DOI: 10.1007/s10096-016-2813-7

Lyme borreliosis (Lyme disease) caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato spirochete is the most common tick-borne infection manifested by a wide spectrum of clinical symptoms. In Poland, the preventive health care does not comprise individual farmers as it is practiced in foresters. The objective of this study was to evaluate the exposure of Polish farmers to infection with B. burgdorferi , based on serological screening test and epidemiological investigation. A total of 3,597 farmers were examined for the presence of B. burgdorferi antibodies, as well as interviewed regarding exposure to ticks and prophylaxis of tick-borne diseases. The prevalence varied between 18.2 and 50.7 % suggesting a focal occurrence of borreliosis. A significant increase in the frequency of positive reactions in the oldest age ranges was observed, equaling 30.9 % in the range of 60–69 years and 53.6 % in the range of 80–91 years. The prevalence of the anti- B. burgdorferi antibodies of IgG class (14.7 %) was similar to that of IgM class (16.0 %). Seroreactivity to B. burgdorferi antigen was significantly higher in the group of farmers exposed to repeated tick bites. Significant relationships were also found between some other risk factors and occurrence of seropositive reactions to B. burgdorferi . To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study concerning s eroprevalence to B. burgdorferi carried out on such a large group of farmers. Results indicate a high risk of B. burgdorferi infection among Polish farmers and associations between some risk factors and the presence of seropositive reactions.