Table 2 Pathogen prevalence in feeding ticks on humans according to demographic characteristics
From: Prevalence of pathogens in ticks collected from humans through citizen science in Belgium
Characteristic | B. burgdorferi (s.l.) % pos (95% CI) | A. phagocytophilum % pos (95% CI) | Babesia spp. % pos (95% CI) | B. miyamotoi % pos (95% CI) | N. mikurensis % pos (95% CI) | R. helvetica % pos (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age of the person bitten (in years) | ||||||
 < 15 (n = 306) | 15.4 (11.7–19.9) | 1.6 (0.7–3.9) | 0.7 (0.2–2.6) | 2.9 (1.5–5.6) | 3.9 (2.2–6.8) | 7.2 (4.8–10.7) |
 15–24 (n = 84) | 9.5 (4.8–18.0) | 1.2 (0.2–8.1) | 3.6 (1.1–10.6) | 1.2 (0.2–8.1) | 2.4 (0.6–9.1) | 8.3 (4.0–16.5) |
 25–44 (n = 353) | 14.2 (10.9–18.2) | 2.6 (1.3–4.8) | 1.1 (0.4–3.0) | 2.5 (1.3–4.8) | 3.1 (1.7–5.5) | 5.9 (3.9–9.0) |
 45–64 (n = 506) | 12.5 (9.5–15.6) | 2.2 (1.2–3.9) | 2.2 (1.2–3.9) | 2.0 (1.1–3.6) | 3.0 (1.8–4.9) | 6.9 (5.0–9.5) |
 ≥ 65 (n = 266) | 15.8 (11.9–20.7) | 0.8 (0.2–2.3) | 0.8 (0.2–3.0) | 2.6 (1.3–5.4) | 1.1 (0.4–3.4) | 6.8 (4.3–10.5) |
Region | ||||||
 Brussels (n = 20) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 (0.7–29.3) | 0 | 5.0 (0.7–29.3) |
 Flanders (n = 881) | 14.2 (12.0–16.7) | 2.2 (1.4–3.3) | 1.4 (0.8–2.4) | 2.5 (1.6–3.8) | 3.0 (2.0–4.3) | 7.6 (6.0–9.6) |
 Wallonia (n = 614) | 13.8 (11.3–16.8) | 1.5 (0.8–2.8) | 1.6 (0.9–3.0) | 2.1 (1.2–3.6) | 2.8 (1.7–4.4) | 5.7 (4.1–7.8) |
Season | ||||||
 April-June (n = 929) | 14.5 (12.4–17.0) | 2.3 (1.5–3.4) | 1.4 (0.8–2.4)* | 2.4 (1.6–3.6) | 3.1 (2.2–4.5) | 6.2 (4.9–8.0) |
 July-August (n = 484) | 12.4 (9.7–15.6) | 1.4 (0.7–3.0) | 0.8 (0.3–2.2)** | 2.9 (1.7–4.8) | 2.5 (1.4–4.3) | 7.6 (5.6–10.4) |
 September-October (n = 102) | 14.7 (9.0–23.0) | 0 | 4.9 (2.0–11.3) | 0 | 2.0 (0.5–7.6) | 7.8 (4.0–15.0) |
Type of environment | ||||||
 Wood/Forest (n = 513) | 14.2 (11.5–17.5) | 2.1 (1.2–3.8) | 1.4 (0.7–2.8) | 2.1 (1.2–3.8) | 3.7 (2.4–5.7) | 6.4 (4.6–8.9) |
 Garden (n = 666) | 13.4 (11.0–16.2) | 1.2 (0.6–2.4) | 1.4 (0.7–2.6) | 2.9 (1.8–4.4) | 2.0 (1.1–3.3) | 7.2 (5.5–9.4) |
 Nature reserve, not forest (n = 102) | 18.6 (12.2–27.4) | 4.9 (2.0–11.3) | 2.0 (0.5–7.6) | 2.0 (0.5–7.6) | 3.9 (1.5–10.0) | 5.9 (2.7–12.5) |
 Grassland, agricultural field (n = 56) | 10.7 (4.9–22.0) | 1.8 (0.2–11.8) | 5.4 (1.7–15.5) | 0 | 1.8 (0.2–11.8) | 7.1 (2.7–17.7) |
 Other (n = 38) | 15.8 (7.2–32.2) | 0 | 0 | 2.6 (0.4–16.8) | 0 | 15.8 (7.2–31.2) |
Activity of person bitten | ||||||
 Leisure (n = 1336) | 14.2 (12.4–16.2) | 1.7 (1.1–2.6) | 1.4 (0.9–2.2) | 2.4 (1.8–3.5) | 2.6 (1.9–3.6) | 7.1 (5.8–8.6) |
 Professional (n = 50) | 16.0 (8.1–29.0) | 6.0 (1.9–17.2) | 2.0 (0.3–13.1) | 4.0 (1.0–14.8) | 6.0 (1.9–17.2) | 2.0 (0.3–13.1) |
Other (n = 47) | 10.6 (4.5–23.3) | 2.1 (0.3–13.9) | 0 | 0 | 4.3 (1.0–15.7) | 6.4 (2.0–18.2) |