AWARENESS OF TICK-BORNE BACTERIAL INFECTION IN THE STUDENTS OF NON-MEDICAL UNIVERSITIES IN TERNOPIL REGION (WESTERN UKRAINE)

Background. The aim of the study was to evaluate the awareness of Lyme borreliosis

prevention and exposure to ticks in non-medical students of 2 universities in Ternopil

Region (Western Ukraine). Material and methods. The study was conducted by surveying

252 young persons studying at non-medical universities in Ternopil (Western Ukraine):

119 students of Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatyuk National Pedagogical University (TNPU) and

133 of Ternopil Ivan Puluj National Technical University (TNTU), aged 18-23 years old. All

the participants completed а questionnaire. Results. The students of Ternopil Volodymyr

Hnatyuk National Pedagogical University (TNPU) and Ternopil Ivan Puluj National Technical

University (TNTU), Ternopil, understand that the risk of being infected with Lyme borreliosis

does not only appear in forests, but also in gardens, parks, and countryside. Still, 16.5% of the

students of both Ternopil universities showed very low awareness about Lyme borreliosis.

Most TNPU respondents in the study group (40.7%) were bitten by a tick in the abdomen

area; 31.3% of the TNTU students declared being bitten in lower limbs. Students of both

universities recorded the fewest bites in the chest area (7.1% in TNTU and 13.0% in TNPU

respectively). As for the most frequent methods of tick removal, 71.4% of the respondents

lubricated it with fat (e.g. butter, oil) and 42.0% twisted it out with tweezers.

Conclusions. Education towards proper methods of tick removal, prevention of tick bites

(clothes, repellents) should become an important element of protection measures in students

in the regions of high Lyme borreliosis frequency, including Ternopil.