Seroepidemiological study of Lyme borreliosis among forestry workers in southern Poland.
Journal Title: Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine - Year 2009, Vol 16, Issue 2
Abstract
Forestry workers are a professional group particularly exposed to tick-borne infections; however, continuous monitoring of anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies in this group enables faster diagnosis and more effective treatment for borreliosis. A group of 1,155 forestry workers from six forest inspectorates in southern Poland were examined with the immunoenzymatic method (ELISA test). The general level of anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies was 12.8 % in IgM class, and 25 % in IgG class. Markedly more seropositive results were found in the group of fieldworkers (13.8 % - IgM and 25.0 % - IgG) than in office workers (10.0 % - IgM and 13.7 % - IgG). The highest proportions of infections both in IgM and IgG class (17.4 % and 34.8 %, respectively) were recorded in the group of persons over 50 years of age, the lowest - in the group of workers younger than 30 (IgM - 13.0 %, IgG - 14.1%). Significant differences in the level of seropositive results in IgG class were related to the workers' gender - in women the percentage was 9.8 %, in men - 28.1 %. It was found that in the studied region of southern Poland, considered to be non-endemic, borreliosis occurs as a health risk to forestry workers.
Authors and Affiliations
Alicja Buczek, Katarzyna Bartosik, Jolanta Szymanska, Angelina Wojcik-Fatla
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP58651
- DOI -
- Views 194
- Downloads 0
Serological and molecular evidence of [i]Coxiella burnetii[/i] in samples from humans and animals in China
[b]Introduction.[/b] [i]Coxiella burnetii[/i] is the agent of Q fever, a worldwide zoonosis. To add to the available knowledge of the disease in China, [i]C. burnetti[/i] infections were investigated in convenience sampl...
Influence of dioxin intoxication on the human system and possibilities of limiting its negative effects on the environment and living organisms
[b]Introduction and objective[/b]. Despite the restrictive legal regulations related to the reduction of dioxins emission, their concentration in the environment is still too high. Mainly, this is related to the illegal...
First report of two asymptomatic cases of human infection with [i]Babesia[/i] microti (Franca, 1910) in Poland
Human infection by [i]Babesia microti[/i] has been recognized as an emerging zoonosis with important public health implications worldwide. In Europe the reported cases of human babesiosis have been attributed mostly to [...
Epidemiology of human toxocariasis in Poland – A review of cases 1978–2009
Toxocariasis is a helminthozoonosis due to the infection of humans with larvae belonging to the [i]Toxocara[/i] genus. Humans become infected as a result of accidental consumption of infected eggs containing third stage...
Assessment of adequacy of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy
Introduction. Deficiency of vitamin D in pregnancy leads to higher incidences of preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, preterm birth, bacterial vaginosis, and also affects the health of the infants. According to Polish rec...