LYME BORRELIOSIS AS A CURRENT HEALTH PROBLEM OF THE 21^ST CENTURY

The aim of the paper is to present the current epidemiological situation of Lyme borreliosis in

Poland as compared to the past years, with particular regard to Lublin Province. According to

the Department of Epidemiology, Laboratory of Monitoring and Epidemiological Analysis, the

National Institute of Public Health – National Institute of Hygiene (NIPH – NIH), the number

of cases of Lyme borreliosis reported for surveillance has increased significantly in the past

three years. In 2016, the number stood at 21 220, i.e. 36% more than in 2015. The assessment

of safety and sanitation standards conducted by State Sanitary Inspection for the year 2015

in Lublin Province showed that the incidence of Lyme borreliosis was 50.9 and that it was

higher than the incidence in Poland – 35.4. Lyme borreliosis is a serious epidemiological and

clinical problem in occupational risk groups, i.e. people working in agriculture, forestry and

hunting. In serological surveys carried out in Lublin Province in the years 2011-2014, there

was a much higher percentage of positive results in workers of several forest inspectorates

than in those doing physical work related to forest exploitation (41.0%), as compared to the

administrative staff (21.4%).