Geographical and Chronological Analysis of Lyme Borreliosis in Stara Zagora Region

Abstract

Objectives: Until recently, Lyme Borreliosis (LB) was not commonly seen in Bulgaria. Now, this infectious disease, which is spread in the form of natural foci, is seen in Bulgaria as well as in North America, Europe and Asia. The objective of the present study is to analyze the dynamics and characteristics of the LB epidemic process for Stara Zagora region over two periods, due to the incompleteness of the data available to Regional Health Inspectorate of Stara Zagora (1993-1997 and 2008-2012). Methods: Complex epidemiological methods, including the epidemiological analysis method, were applied in the data interpretation. Routine methods have been previously applied in studying serological samples from patients diagnosed with LB, including indirect IFA (until 1997) and ELISA (until 2012). Results: During the first period of our study (1993-1997), the distribution of LB patients by years was irregular, with the highest number of patients in 1993 (32) and 1995(39). During the second period (2008-2012), the highest number of LB patients was recorded in 2008 (93). During both the first and second study periods, we found that LB disease in Stara Zagora Region decreased. However, on a national and world scale, LB disease is increasing, most likely due to the methods of diagnostics, climate change and increased migration. Conclusions: Because the incidence of LB is increasing worldwide, we believe that the laboratory and clinical diagnostics of LB should be more precise. J Microbiol Infect Dis 2018; 8(1):13-17