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

Background: As forest is the preferred environment for ticks, forestry workers are exposed to tick bites and tick-borne diseases. We assessed the seroprevalence of anti-Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) antibodies and investigated, using an integrated landscape approach, the individual and environmental factors associated with the seroprevalence of Bb in Belgian forestry workers, a high-risk group in Belgium.

Methods: A group of 310 Belgian forest workers was examined to assess the seroprevalence of anti-Borrelia IgG antibodies.

Time trend of clinical cases of Lyme disease in two hospitals in Belgium, 2000-2013.

Background: As several studies indicated an increase in Lyme disease (LD), notably in neighbouring countries, concerns have arisen regarding the evolution of Lyme disease in Belgium. In order to confirm or infirm the increase of LD in Belgium, we focused on hospital admissions of patients diagnosed with LD between 2000 and 2013 based on hospital admission databases from two hospitals in Belgium.

Methods: Hospital databases are a stable recording system.

Individual and environmental factors associated with the seroprevalence of in Belgian farmers and veterinarians.

Background: Lyme disease (LD) is a common tick-borne disease in Europe. Diverse factors at various scales determine the spatial distribution of infection risk and a better understanding of those factors in a spatially explicit framework is needed for disease management and prevention. While the ecology of ticks and the landscape favoring their abundance have been extensively studied, the environmental conditions favoring an intense contact with susceptible humans, including groups at risk, are sparse.

Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Francisella tularensis Infections in Belgium: Results of Three Population-Based Samples.

To estimate the seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Ap), and Francisella tularensis (Ft) in Belgium, we tested sera from three population-based samples in which exposure to pathogen is assumed to vary: 148 samples from workers professionally exposed, 209 samples from rural blood donors, and 193 samples from urban blood donors. Sera were tested using ELISA or the immunofluorescence assay test. The seroprevalence of Bb was 5.

Scouts, forests, and ticks: Impact of landscapes on human-tick contacts.

Just as with forest workers or people practicing outdoor recreational activities, scouts are at high risk for tick bites and tick-borne infections. The risk of a tick bite is shaped not only by environmental and climatic factors but also by land management. The aim of this study was to assess which environmental conditions favour scout-tick contacts, and thus to better understand how these factors and their interactions influence the two components of risk: hazard (related to vector and host ecology) and exposure of humans to disease vectors.

Human anaplasmosis in Belgium: a 10-year seroepidemiological study.

Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) is a tick-borne rickettsial infection of neutrophils caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Although the pathogen was known as a veterinary agent as early as 1932, the link with human disease was first established in 1990. In the past decennium, the involvement of HGA as an important and frequent cause of fever with a history of tick bite was increasingly recognized in many regions of Europe.

Determinants of the geographic distribution of Puumala virus and Lyme borreliosis infections in Belgium.

Background: Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases generally display clear spatial patterns due to different space-dependent factors. Land cover and land use influence disease transmission by controlling both the spatial distribution of vectors or hosts, and the probability of contact with susceptible human populations. The objective of this study was to combine environmental and socio-economic factors to explain the spatial distribution of two emerging human diseases in Belgium, Puumala virus (PUUV) and Lyme borreliosis.