AWARENESS OF LYME DISEASE AMONG VOCATIONAL SCHOOL STUDENTS AND CHILDREN (TERNOPIL REGION, WESTERN UKRAINE)

The research goal is to assess the awareness of Lyme borreliosis among students and parents whose children were bitten by ticks (aged 3 to 18 years) and to inform about preventive measures that are carried out in case of contact with ticks in college students and bitten children in Ternopil region (Western region of Ukraine). The research was conducted by surveying 95 18-year-old first-year students of a vocational technical, and 78 parents whose children were bitten by ticks (children aged 3 to 18 years). Children of this group were treated for EM. The participants filled out the questionnaire. Participants of both groups were bitten by ticks mainly in the rural areas. In most of the respondents, the tick was removed not later than 12 hours from the moment of the bite. 43% of students and 47% of children's parents did not remember the fact of a tick bite. About a third of students believed that the source of the disease is bacteria and viruses. More than a third of children, 36,62%, showed very low awareness of Lyme borreliosis. When removing a tick 11,1% of students filled the tick with fat, and 42,0% twisted it with tweezers. Only 33,3% of children and their parents went to the trauma center for tick removal. In fact, only 28% of students went to the hospital. Training the correct methods of removing ticks and prevention of tick bites (clothes, repellents) should become an important element of measures to protect students in regions with a high incidence of Lyme borreliosis including endemic zones in the Ternopil region.