Grillon Antoine, Sauleau Erik, Boulanger Nathalie
UR3073, PHAVI, Groupe Borrelia, Université de Strasbourg, F-67000 Strasbourg, France.
Centre National de Référence Borrelia, CHRU Strasbourg, F-67200 Strasbourg, France.
Pathogens. 2024 Aug 16;13(8):696. doi: 10.3390/pathogens13080696.
The progressing worldwide increases in tick occurrence and tick-borne diseases calls for the development of new prevention strategies to reduce their impact on human and animal health. Defining the risk of exposure to tick bites is therefore essential. Forestry workers are at high risk of tick bites. We set up an explorative study among forestry workers in the Alsace region in eastern France to measure the different factors affecting the risk of tick bites during their activities in forests. For one year, forestry workers recorded the presence of ticks on their clothes and tick bites every time they were working in teams in different forest ecosystems. Questions about the prevention measures they followed were also noted. Among the 32 participants, we were able to differentiate between groups having a high, neutral, or low risk of being bitten. The median tick bite number per year was 4 (0-8). We tried to identify individual as well as environmental factors affecting the risk of tick bites. Factors influencing the risk were the seasonal peak of tick activity in May and June, the time of exposure, and the forest ecosystems visited during the year. Additional factors potentially affecting the risk were also identified.
全球范围内蜱虫出现次数和蜱传疾病的不断增加，需要制定新的预防策略以减少其对人类和动物健康的影响。因此，确定接触蜱虫叮咬的风险至关重要。林业工人面临着蜱虫叮咬的高风险。我们在法国东部阿尔萨斯地区的林业工人中开展了一项探索性研究，以衡量在森林活动期间影响蜱虫叮咬风险的不同因素。在一年的时间里，林业工人每次在不同森林生态系统中团队作业时，都记录衣服上蜱虫的存在情况和蜱虫叮咬情况。还记录了他们所采取预防措施的相关问题。在32名参与者中，我们能够区分出被咬风险高、中等或低的群体。每年蜱虫叮咬次数的中位数为4次（0 - 8次）。我们试图确定影响蜱虫叮咬风险的个体因素和环境因素。影响风险的因素包括5月和6月蜱虫活动的季节性高峰、暴露时间以及当年走访的森林生态系统。还确定了其他可能影响风险的因素。
