This article describes a methodology for assessing the geographic determinants of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) risk in Poland. We assessed the usefulness of variables related to the land use, climate, and socio-economic status at the municipal level, which would allow us to understand why the disease occurs only in certain regions of the country. In addition, we considered factors such as vegetation types, weather conditions, the number of residents and tourists and Lyme disease cases as potential indicator of tick activity. Our goal was to create a comprehensive model that would allow us to predict the risk of TBE and plan effective preventive measures, such as vaccinations and the use of protective measures against ticks.
This publication summarized our choices regarding epidemiological and statistical methods, which were the subject of much discussion, starting from the grant application preparation stage. The work was presented at a national conference on neuroinfections and published in a supplement to the journal “Epidemiological Review”. Importantly, although journal supplements were not typically indexed in PubMed, this publication was included in the PubMed Central repository and was indexed, because the research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that automatically makes such articles more visible.