Prevention of tick bites and protection against tick-borne diseases in south-eastern Poland.

The objective of this survey was to obtain information on the level of knowledge of prophylactic behaviour as a protection against fundamental tick-borne diseases among inhabitants of south-eastern Poland, and to determine whether the professions that increase the probability of tick contact, as well as previous contact with ticks, influenced the knowledge on tick-borne diseases and prophylactic behaviour of the respondents. The questionnaire included questions about gender of respondents, their place of residence and preventive behaviour against tick bite. The respondents were asked about the occupational hazard of working in tick infested areas, history of tick bites, awareness of diseases transmitted by ticks and the sources of their knowledge. The research was carried out in 2005. The most frequent preventive measures used were tick repellents (38 % ) and wearing protective clothing (35 % ). According to the questionnaire survey, 21 % of respondents did not take any preventive measures. The practice and form of prophylaxis was associated with the place of residence. In contrast to individuals from rural areas, a relatively low percentage of urban inhabitants used simple methods for protecting themselves against tick bites. Our survey indicates that the awareness of the Lublin region inhabitants concerning methods of tick bite prevention is still low and greater efforts are needed in promoting basic methods of protection and disseminating knowledge about these arthropods.