ORIGINAL PAPER
The evaluation of hunters and foresters’ knowledge of the possible ways of preventing Borrelia burgdorferi infections
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1
Państwowa Szkoła Wyższa im. Papieża Jana Pawła II w Białej Podlaskiej / Pope John Paul II State School of Higher Education
in Biała Podlaska, Biała Podlaska, Poland
(Katedra Nauk o Zdrowiu / Institute of Health Sciences)
2
Państwowy Uniwersytet Medyczny imienia I.Ya. Horbaczewskiego w Tarnopolu / I.Ya. Horbachevsky Ternopil State Medical University,
Ternopil, Ukraine
(Katedra Chorób Zakaźnych, Epidemiologii, Dermatologii i Wenerologii / Department of Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology,
Dermatology and Venereology)
3
Państwowy Instytut Weterynaryjny − Państwowy Instytut Badawczy / National Veterinary Research Institute in Puławy, Puławy, Poland
(Zakład Mikrobiologii / Department of Microbiology)
4
Państwowa Szkoła Wyższa im. Papieża Jana Pawła II w Białej Podlaskiej / Pope John Paul II State School of Higher Education
in Biała Podlaska, Biała Podlaska, Poland
(Katedra Kultury Fizycznej i Fizjoterapii / Department of Physiotherapy)
5
Państwowy Uniwersytet Medyczny imienia I.Ya. Horbaczewskiego w Tarnopolu / I.Ya. Horbachevsky Ternopil State Medical University,
Ternopil, Ukraine
(Katedra Biochemii Medycznej / Department of Medical Biochemistry)
6
Państwowy Uniwersytet Medyczny imienia I.Ya. Horbaczewskiego w Tarnopolu / I.Ya. Horbachevsky Ternopil State Medical University,
Ternopil, Ukraine
(Katedra Diagnostyki Klinicznej i Laboratoryjnej / Department of Clinical and Laboratory Diagnostics)
Online publication date: 2019-12-18
Corresponding author
Małgorzata Tokarska-Rodak
Państwowa Szkoła Wyższa im. Papieża Jana
Pawła II w Białej Podlaskiej, Katedra Nauk o Zdrowiu, ul. Sidorska 102, 21-500 Biała Podlaska
Med Pr Work Health Saf. 2020;71(1):59-68
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ABSTRACT
Background: This study is aimed at evaluating the awareness among hunters and foresters concerning the activities undertaken for
the prevention of Borrelia burgdorferi infections. Material and Methods: The study group included 236 hunters from Poland and
339 foresters from Ukraine. The study was based on an original questionnaire including questions which concerned the applied
methods of removing ticks attached to the skin, the kind of preventive measures undertaken to avoid tick bites, the evaluation of knowledge
concerning the prevention of tick-borne diseases, as well as the participants’ willingness to be educated on this issue. Results: Removing a tick with a pair of tweezers by a simple vertical move was more frequently practiced by the hunters (16.5%).
Spreading an oily substance over a tick to make it go out on its own was more often applied by the foresters (18.8%). The occurrence
of erythema migrans was more frequently reported by the foresters (47.2%). Among the persons declaring no knowledge of the
prevention of tick-borne diseases, 77.8% of the hunters and 61.5% of the foresters were willing to gain such knowledge, and 11.1%
of the hunters and 21.2% of the foresters did not want any education on this issue. The hunters more often than the foresters applied
repellents and checked their body after returning from green areas. Conclusions: Education is needed in certain groups undertaking
hobby or vocational activities in forest areas of Poland and Ukraine. It seems reasonable to undertake research on the preferences
concerning the choice of repellents among the groups at risk of tick bites. Med Pr. 2020;71(1):59–68