Risk assessment in Lyme borreliosis

A 3-year EU-funded project (EUCALB), initially involving 14 countries and more than 30 scientists and physicians, was undertaken with the main objective of identifying practical risk assessment criteria for Lyme borreliosis. A major part of the project was dedicated to the improvement of data quality. European case definitions were formulated and quality assurance schemes were developed for serological diagnosis and the detection of infection in ticks. Studies on the standardisation of immunoblot interpretation criteria are still in progress. Data on the clinical risk from tick bites were obtained and considerable progress was made in elucidating the complex ecology of the disease. A study on habitat assessment throughout Europe concluded that high risk was associated with highly heterogeneous recreational woodland and case data from both high and low incidence countries suggested that most infections were acquired in recreational areas. Considerable work is still required to relate clinical data to the epidemiology and ecology of the disease in order to assess risk in Lyme borreliosis.