Lyme borreliosis--epidemiological analysis of incidence in the northern region of Slovakia

Abstract

Lyme borreliosis is a contemporary public health problem. That's why we devoted our prospective and retrospective epidemiological study to the incidence of anthropozoonosis in the regions of Liptovský Mikulás and Ruzomberok. We created a group of 476 patients from the medical documentation of infectious units. These patients were treated for Lyme borreliosis from 1989 to 2010, 280 patients in the county of Liptovský Mikulás, and 196 patients in the county of Ruzomberok. Morbidity in different years was compared to national data. The number of ill patients (n = 476) compared to data about reported cases from The Regional Public Health Office in Liptovský Mikulás (n = 221) confirmed the lack of a warning service. The actual incidence of Lyme disease in the Liptov region is twice higher. The average morbidity was 16.24 people per 100,000 of the population for the last 22 years. The highest morbidity from 476 treated patients (men 37.52%, women 62.48%) was in the group aged from 45 to 54 years with an average annual morbidity 21.18/100,000. The study also confirmed the higher incidence of Lyme disease in the female population.