EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SITUATION OF LYME BORRELIOSIS AND DIAGNOSIS STANDARDS IN POLAND AND UKRAINE

Abstract

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common tick-borne disease in Europe and the number of cases continues to grow. The aim of the following paper was to present the epidemiological situation and standards of LB diagnosis in the two neighboring countries of Central-Eastern Europe, i.e. Poland and Ukraine. Lyme borreliosis is considered endemic both in Poland and Ukraine. In Poland, the surveillance system for LB was started in 1996, as the number of LB cases increases systematically. Presently, LB occupies a prominent place amongst occupational diseases. In Ukraine, registration of LB began in 2000, and the incidence of this disease in the country increases each year. At the same time, Ukraine does not officially recognize LB as an occupational disease, which would provide the sick with proper social guarantees. Poland has available recommendations issued by the Polish Society of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases for diagnosis and treatment of LB. In turn, common recommendations for methods of diagnosis and treatment of LB in Ukraine are still missing. In the absence of any guidelines on laboratory diagnostics of LB in Ukraine, some serious efforts should be made to harmonize standards in the diagnosis of Lyme disease in this country, which could be based on the guidelines in force in European countries.