This article presents findings from a large, nationwide study in Poland that examined factors influencing the risk of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), a serious viral disease transmitted by ticks. The study showed that the highest risk was among individuals who spent substantial time\u201410 hours or more per week\u2014in mixed forests, particularly those engaged in mushroom or berry picking. Elevated risk was also observed among unemployed individuals, forestry workers, and people in non-specialized occupations, as well as among those living close to forested areas. In regions where TBE is rare, the primary risk factors were extensive time spent in mixed forests and travel to TBE-endemic areas. Interestingly, activities such as camping and swimming were associated with a reduced risk, likely because they involve less exposure to typical tick habitats. Overall, the findings demonstrate that social and economic conditions, together with specific outdoor behaviors, strongly influence TBE risk, underscoring the need for public health interventions that prioritize vulnerable populations, including lower-income groups and those with frequent forest exposure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am especially proud of this study because it took many years to bring to fruition. The funding application process involved extensive discussions and three consecutive submissions before success. Ultimately, the project was funded by the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland\u2014an uncommon achievement, as the NIH rarely supports research conducted outside the United States. The study was coordinated by a dedicated national team and supported by hundreds of regional and local investigators. It was one of the first attempts to study risk factors for TBE in a large observational study, as most previous research relied on surveillance data or multi-center studies of hospitalized patients without appropriate control groups.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Article in English published in the journal PLoS One<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1074,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true},"class_list":["post-1145","publikacje","type-publikacje","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pawel.stefanoff.pl\/work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publikacje\/1145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pawel.stefanoff.pl\/work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publikacje"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pawel.stefanoff.pl\/work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/publikacje"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pawel.stefanoff.pl\/work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pawel.stefanoff.pl\/work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}