Posted ,
Reading 3 mins.
A study published in the Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin of Public Health France shows that if the level of information of the French population on Lyme disease increased between 2016 and 2019, citizens are also more likely to have been bitten by a tick on this same period.
The Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis (BL), is the most common tick-borne infectious disease in France. To know the level of information of the French on the subject, in particular since the implementation of the national plan to fight against diseases transmitted by ticks in 2016, Public Health France carried out a study, recently published in the Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin ( BEH). And if they seem better informed about the disease and its means of prevention, the number of people affected has increased.
Lyme disease: more people affected and aware
The survey, conducted by telephone with a sample of more than 10,000 people aged 18 to 85 residing in metropolitan France, took place from January 9 to June 29, 2019. The results were compared with those of a Barometer already carried out in 2016. They show that in 2019, “30% of the population reported having been bitten by a tick in their lifetime and 6% in the last 12 months. These proportions were respectively 25% and 4% in 2016.“This increase in people affected was greater in certain regions with a medium to high incidence of Lyme disease (Limousin, Champagne-Ardenne, Lorraine and Alsace) as well as in people living in rural areas or working as farmers or without professional activity. .
On another side, the French seem more aware to this infection which is not insignificant: “The proportion of people having heard of BL increased from 66% in 2016 to 79% in 2019, as well as the proportion of people feeling well informed (from 29% to 41%)”, notes the study. The majority of the population (94%) is aware that the disease can have health consequences, ranging from skin reaction to joint and neurological manifestations. The authors of the study also observe a better knowledge of ways to prevent tick biteswith “an increase in people reporting using long clothing for protection from 66% in 2016 to 74% in 2019, and in people reporting looking for and removing ticks after exposure from 48% in 2016 to 53% in 2019”.
Lyme disease: a level of information that remains insufficient
However, the general public’s level of information on the BL seems insufficient: in 2019, only 42% of French people felt well informed on the subject. Shortcomings which have a direct impact on exposure to the disease, most often contracted after a walk in the forest, in meadows or gardens: for example, 34% of the population declared that they never inspected their body after a exposure or never using long clothing (18%), 19% explained that they removed the tick with their hands instead of using a tick remover, erythema migrans was not identified as the first symptom of the disease by 32 % of the population having already heard of BL and only 24% of those bitten have consulted a doctor. In addition, preventive measures were applied more by people aged 55 and over, by women and by people living in high incidence regions.
Lyme disease: strengthening prevention campaigns
How to explain these paradoxical figures? According to Public Health France, “as the level of information increased over this period, the reporting of tick bites may have increased, in part, due to better awareness of the population. To better understand this increase in incidence, more information on the distribution and density of ticks, the presence of reservoirs and the interactions between humans-reservoirs-ticks on the territory are necessary.”
But also a reinforcement of information campaigns on Lyme disease, taking into account “the results of this study to adapt prevention actions to the entire population. Men and young adults being the least aware of BL to date, information campaigns dedicated to them seem necessary.” For Public Health France, “the perception of risk and the level of information play an important role in adherence to these measures. The challenge is therefore to promote the right messages and to propose effective interventions for the prevention of risks related to tick bites and adapted to the living environment of exposed people without causing anxiety.”