title: Human behaviors elevating the risk of exposure to Ixodes ricinus larvae and nymphs in two types of lowland coniferous forests in west-central Poland.
abstract: Ixodes ricinus L. is the commonest tick encountered by humans in Central Europe and the most important vector of tick-borne diseases (TBD) in Europe. Foresters represent a group at elevated risk of exposure to I. ricinus throughout Europe. Here, we employed an experimental design similar to one used previously to determine what behavioral factors heighten exposure to questing Ixodes pacificus nymphs in a hardwood forest in the far-western United States. Five activities were evaluated systematically in a coniferous forest and a mixed broadleaved forest in west-central Poland: (i) walking in low-cut running shoes; (ii) sitting atop logs; (iii) sitting on leaf litter; (iv) sitting against tree trunks; and (v) gathering firewood. In total, 540 I. ricinus ticks were collected (198 larvae, 327 nymphs, 15 adults) in spring and late summer. Many more ticks were collected in spring than in late summer, and in the mixed broadleaved forest versus the coniferous forest. The riskiest behavior for acquiring nymphs in both spring and late summer was gathering firewood, though sitting atop logs was nearly as perilous in late summer. In contrast, the riskiest behaviors for encountering larvae in spring and late summer were sitting against trunks and sitting on leaf litter, respectively. Pairwise comparisons revealed only two significant associations among the variables explored for the nymphs: season and human gender, and season and type of forest. For larval ticks, the most significant associations were gender and sitting behaviors and for type of forest and sitting on leaf litter or against tree trunks. The most commonly infested body region was the lower legs.
authors: Department of Game Management and Forest Protection, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71d, 60-625 Poznań, Poland. Electronic address: wierzba@up.poznan.pl.
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Wierzbicka
authors: Department of Forest Management, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71c, 60-625 Poznań, Poland.
authors: Grzegorz
authors: G
authors: Rączka
authors: Department of Game Management and Forest Protection, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71d, 60-625 Poznań, Poland.
authors: Maciej
authors: M
authors: Skorupski
authors: Department of Animal Morphology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-619 Poznań, Poland.
authors: Jerzy
authors: J
authors: Michalik
authors: Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
authors: Robert S
authors: RS
authors: Lane
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D063147:Animal Distribution / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D065928:Forests; D006802:Human Activities; D006801:Humans; D018884:Ixodes / Q000502:physiology*; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009758:Nymph / Q000502:physiology; D011044:Poland; D012621:Seasons; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Human behavior; Ixodes ricinus; Risk factors