Contemporary aspects of the epidemiological surveillance of socially significant tick-borne infections (TBIS) in Varna region

Abstract

The modern system for epidemiological surveillance of tick-borne infections (TBIs) in the Varna region requires a systematic analysis of the epidemic process. Aim : The aim of this article is to trace the evolution in parameters of the parasitic system in Lyme Borreliosis, Boutonneuse fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and Q-fever in the Varna region for the period 2001-2017 and the activities of the epidemiological surveillance system. Materials and Methods: Data from active epidemiological studies and analyses of TBIs in the region of Varna and Bulgaria for the period 2001-2017 were used; as well as epidemiological and entomological methods, statistical and graphic analyses, nosogeographic analyses and others. Results: Data from the epidemiological analysis determined the continuing health and social significance of registered TBIs in the Varna region during the considered period. High levels of morbidity in Lyme disease (LD) and Boutonneuse fever (BF) with characteristic summer seasonality, correlated with the activity of vectors - reservoirs (Ixodes ticks), have been established. The system of epidemiological surveillance includes events for effective dispensary monitoring of the bitten by a tick; collecting complete epidemiological information about the area where the bite has occurred; preparation of epidemiological analysis of the morbidity of transmissible infections on the territory of the Varna region with emphasis on Lyme borreliosis, Boutonneuse fever, Q fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), surveillance over the species composition and territorial distribution of tick populations and expanding the tick control activities in the region. There is a timely diagnosis and treatment of the registered patients. It is necessary to expand and deepen the system of epidemiological surveillance with the proposed strategy for surveillance and control of socially significant TBIs in the Black Sea region of the Republic of Bulgaria.