Wodecka B: Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato DNA in Ixodes ricinus ticks in north-western Poland. Ann Agric Environ Med 2003, 10, 171-178.

Abstract: In order to estimate the risk of contracting Lyme disease in the forest areas of north-western Poland, PCR-based studies were carried out on 6,817 Ixodes ricinus ticks for infection by the spirochaete B. burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.). The studies were performed using the primers for the fla gene, conserved for all European genospecies of B. burgdorferi s.l. Based on the incidence of B. burgdorferi s.l. DNA in I. ricinus ticks at eight sampling sites during 1998-2001, it may be concluded that a risk of contracting Lyme disease is present in the forest areas of north-western Poland. The highest risk of infection (9.4% of infected ticks) is posed by human contact with female I. ricinus, and the risk is higher in late spring and early summer than in late summer and early autumn. The north-western part of Poland is an endemic region for B. burgdorferi s.l.

Address for correspondence: Department of Genetics, University of Szczecin, Piastow 40B, 71-065 Szczecin, Poland. E-mail: beata.wodecka@univ.szczecin.pl

Key words: DNA, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Ixodes ricinus, infection, north-western Poland.