[Lyme borreliosis in Poland in 2010]

Lyme borreliosis is an animal, affecting multiple systems infectious disease transmitted to humans by the ticks (vector) belonging to the genus Ixodes. The incidence of Lyme borreliosis is conterminous with the ticks habitat and covers the Northern Hemisphere. The Department of Epidemiology of National Institute of Public Health - National Institute of Hygiene (NIPH-NIH) is liable for the registration of Lyme borreliosis since 1996. The highest incidence of Lyme borreliosis is observed in the north-east region, but it should be noted that the disease is not only restricted to the aforesaid area of Poland.

The aim of the present article is to analyze the epidemiological situation of Lyme borreliosis in Poland in 2010 with its comparison to the situation observed in the previous years.

The epidemiological situation of Lyme borreliosis in Poland was analyzed on the basis of case-based questionnaires for Lyme borreliosis sent to Epidemiology Department NIPH-NIH by the Sanitary and Epidemiological Stations and the data from the bulletin--"Infectious diseases and poisonings in Poland in 2010" (MP Czarkowski et al., Warsaw 2011, NIPH-NIH, Chief Sanitary Inspectorate).

In 2010, 9005 Lyme borreliosis cases were registered in Poland, which constitutes a 13% decrease in the number of reported cases and incidence (23.6 per 100 000 population) in the comparison with the previous year. The highest incidence, accounting for 76.0 per 100 000 population, was reported in podlaskie voivodeship. 2318 persons were hospitalized due to Lyme borreliosis.

In 2010, for the first time in eight years, an increased tendency of the number of registered Lyme borreliosis cases was not observed. An approximately 13% decline in the number of notified cases was reported in comparison with the previous year. There is still a low number of Western blot tests performed to confirm the disease.