Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi in Belgian forestry workers and associated risk factors

Parasites & Vectors

Table 2 Demographic and exposure characteristics of the 310 forest workers (Wallonia, Belgium)

Characteristic		Subjects
Characteristic		n	%
Gender	Male	293	94.5
Gender	Female	17	5.5
Age	Less than 50 years	161	51.9
Age	50 years or more	149	48.1
Duration of employment in silviculture	Up to 20 years	153	49.3
Duration of employment in silviculture	More than 20 years	157	50.7
Frequency of forest visits	Less than 3 times per week	36	11.6
Frequency of forest visits	3 times per week or more	274	88.4
Mean duration of forest visits	Up to 5 hours	104	33.5
Mean duration of forest visits	1 day	206	66.5
Use of protective measures	+	182	58.7
Use of protective measures	-	128	41.3
Use of protective clothes	+	160	51.6
Use of protective clothes	-	150	48.4
Use of repellents	+	68	21.9
Use of repellents	-	242	78.1
Tick bites during work	+	294	94.8
Tick bites during work	-	16	5.2
Number of tick bites	0–10	88	29.8
	11–100	141	47.8
	More than 100	66	22.4
Frequency of tick bites	Less than 1 per month	141	48.3
Frequency of tick bites	1 per month or more	151	51.7
Method to remove the tick	Use of tick tweezer	210	67.7
	Use of tweezer	46	14.8
	Use of fingers	39	12.6
	Others	15	4.8
History of Lyme disease signs or symptoms	Erythema migrans	23	26.4
	Articular symptoms	29	33.3
	Articular and neurological symptoms	21	24.1
	Others	14	16.1
Cause of Lyme borreliosis	Tick Bite	57	27.3
	Bacteria	115	55.1
	Other causes	36	17.6

ISSN: 1756-3305