Federal state public scientific institution "Scientific Centre for family health and human reproduction problems" (FSPSI SC FHHRP), Irkutsk, Russian Federation.
Federal state public scientific institution "Scientific Centre for family health and human reproduction problems" (FSPSI SC FHHRP), Irkutsk, Russian Federation.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2024 May;15(3):102327. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102327. Epub 2024 Mar 8.
The bites of hard ticks are the major route of transmission of tick-borne infections to humans, causing thousands of cases of diseases worldwide. However, the characteristics of the human population that is exposed to tick bites are still understudied. This work is aimed at characterizing both the structure of the population directly contacting ticks and the human behavioral features associated with tick bites. We studied 25,970 individuals who sought medical help after a tick bite at the Centre for Diagnostics and Prevention of Tick-borne Infections (CDPTBI) in Irkutsk City (Russian Federation). The demographic and behavioral characteristics of the human population were analyzed using z-tests for proportions, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. The majority of bitten people were urban residents (70 %), and most of them were either of active ages between 30 and 74 years old (62 %), or children between 0 and 9 years old (approximately 20%). Tick bites occurred mostly in the range of 150 km around the location of the diagnostic facility (83 %). In comparison to the general population, significant differences were revealed in the representation of different age groups among bitten people. The population affected by tick bites included fewer men and women in the ages of 10-29 and over 75 years old than would be predicted based on the demographics of the general population. Vice versa, the proportions of people in the ages of 5-9 and 60-74 increased among bitten people. Among men, such activities (in order of occurrence) as "leisure and recreation", "visiting allotments", "foraging for forest food", and "fulfilling work duties" tend to be more associated with tick bites. Among women, tick bites occurred mainly during "visiting allotments", "leisure and recreation", "visiting cemeteries" and "contact with pets and plants at home". The overall vaccination rate was 12 %; however, significantly more men than women were vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis (up to 20 % vs. approximately 7 % respectively). The structure of the tick bite - affected population suggests that it is age-specific human behavior that mainly determines the frequency of contact between people and ticks. However, in several age groups, especially among children from 5 to 9 and people aged 30-39 years old, gender-related factors could significantly change the exposure of people to tick bites.
硬蜱的叮咬是蜱传感染传播给人类的主要途径，在全球范围内导致了数千例疾病。然而，接触蜱叮咬的人类人群的特征仍在研究之中。这项工作旨在描述直接接触蜱的人群结构以及与蜱叮咬相关的人类行为特征。我们研究了在俄罗斯伊尔库茨克市的 tick-borne 感染诊断和预防中心 (CDPTBI) 因 tick 叮咬而寻求医疗帮助的 25970 个人。使用比例的 z 检验、Mann-Whitney U 检验和 Spearman 秩相关系数分析了人群的人口统计学和行为特征。大多数被咬伤的人是城市居民（70%），其中大多数人处于 30 至 74 岁的活跃年龄段（62%），或者是 0 至 9 岁的儿童（约 20%）。 tick 叮咬主要发生在距离诊断设施 150 公里范围内（83%）。与一般人群相比，在被咬伤的人群中，不同年龄组的代表性存在显著差异。受 tick 叮咬影响的人群中，10-29 岁和 75 岁以上的男性和女性人数少于根据一般人群人口统计学预测的人数。相反，5-9 岁和 60-74 岁的人群比例在被咬伤的人群中增加。在男性中，与 tick 叮咬更相关的活动（按发生顺序）为“休闲和娱乐”、“参观自留地”、“采集森林食物”和“履行工作职责”。在女性中， tick 叮咬主要发生在“参观自留地”、“休闲和娱乐”、“参观墓地”以及“与家中的宠物和植物接触”期间。总体疫苗接种率为 12%；然而，接种 tick-borne 脑炎疫苗的男性明显多于女性（高达 20%，而女性约为 7%）。受 tick 叮咬影响的人群结构表明，主要是特定年龄的人类行为决定了人与 tick 之间接触的频率。然而，在几个年龄组中，尤其是 5 至 9 岁的儿童和 30-39 岁的人群中，性别相关因素可能会显著改变人群接触 tick 的情况。
