West of Ireland Lyme Borreliosis Mapping Project
IDSA Session: Abstracts: Bacterial Infections
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Background: Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne infection in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. However, in many Lyme endemic areas epidemiologic data are sparse.
Methods: Serum samples referred for Borrelia serology processed through our centre from 2005 to 2009 inclusive were reviewed. Samples fulfilling immunoblot criteria for positivity were included. All cases were mapped using Geographical Information System (arcGIS) software based on their residential address. Cases were mapped against landuse using Corine data (Co-ordination of Information on the Environment) Land Cover 2006 courtesy of the EPA via the European Environmental Agency. Cases were also mapped per DED (District Electoral Divisions). Using population data from CSO (Central Statistics Office) Census 2006, 5 year incidence per 100,000 population per DED was calculated and mapped.
Results: 152 cases were identified over the study period, 18 in 2005, 23 in 2006, 19 in 2007, 41 in 2008 and 51 in 2009. Clinical data were available for 55 cases. There was a considerable variation in incidence per DED. Landuse types of peat bog and transitional woodland were associated with higher incidence rates. 5 year incidence per DED showed clustering of 5 year incidence rates above 151 per 100,000 in an area of west Galway called South Connemara (map shown)
Conclusion: Considerable disparity in incidence by region was observed. This could be partially explained by differences in landuse and local ecology of hosts. This needs to be further investigated for biological explanation, such as tick or host infection rate, borrelia genospecies and human behaviour. These maps allow for targeted public health intervention, with the provision of information on prevention of tick bites and early diagnosis of Lyme Disease in high incidence areas.
Subject Category: C. Clinical studies of bacterial infections and antibacterials including sexually transmitted diseases and mycobacterial infections (surveys, epidemiology, and clinical trials)
Speakers:
Eoghan de Barra, MB, Bch , Department of Infectious Diseases, University College Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland
Eavan Muldoon, MB, Bch , Department of Infectious Diseases, University College Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland
Geraldine Moloney, MB, Bch , Department of Infectious Diseases, University College Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland
Deirdre Goggin , Department of Public Health, Health Service Executive West, Galway, Ireland
Belinda Hanahoe, BSc , Department of Microbiology, Univerisity College Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland
Geraldine Corbett Feeney, MB, Bch , Department of Microbiology, Univerisity College Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland
Catherine Fleming, MPH, MB, Bch , Department of Infectious Diseases, University College Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland
For other research papers related to tick-borne infections in Ireland see below:
Human babesiosis in ireland: Further observations and the medical significance of this infection (1969)
P. C. C. Garnham, Joseph Donnelly, Harry Hoogstraal, C. Cotton Kennedy, and Gerald A. Walton
Babesiosis: under-reporting or case-clustering? (1989)
C. S. Clarke, E. T. Rogers, and E. L. Egan
Department of Haematology, Galway Regional Hospital, Ireland.
A Lyme borreliosis human serosurvey of asymptomatic adults in Ireland (1991)
Smith HV, Gray JS, Mckenzie G.
Department of Bacteriology, Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow, U.K.
Neurological manifestations of Lyme disease (1991)
Ir Med J. 1991 Mar;84(1):20-1.
Reilly M, Hutchinson M. Department of Neurology, Adelaide Hospital, Dublin.
Studies on the ecology of Lyme disease in a deer forest in County Galway, Ireland (1992)
Gray JS, Kahl O, Janetzki C, Stein J.
Department of Environmental Resource Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University College Dublin, Republic of Ireland.
The spatial distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi-infected Ixodes ricinus in the Connemara region of County Galway, Ireland (1995)
Gray JS, Kahl O, Janetzki C, Stein J, Guy E.
Department of Environmental Resource Management, University College Dublin, Ireland.
Tick Study Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry (1997)
Local variations in the distribution and prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato genomospecies in Ixodes ricinus ticks.
F Kirstein, S Rijpkema, M Molkenboer, and J S Gray University College Dublin, Belfield, Ireland.
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Ixodes ricinus ticks and rodents in a recreational park in south-western Ireland (1999)
Gray JS, Kirstein F, Robertson JN, Stein J, Kahl O.
University College Dublin, Ireland.
PCR-BASED SURVEY OF TICK-BORNE DISEASES IN THE UK/IRELAND (2001)
European Society for Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2001, Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, UK
Blood-meal analysis for the identification of reservoir hosts of tick-borne pathogens in Ireland (2005)
Department of Environmental Resource Management, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.
Pichon B, Rogers M, Egan D, Gray J.
Minireview -Ixodes ricinus seasonal activity: Implications of global warming indicated by revisiting tick and weather data (2007)
Authored by Gray JS. School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Prevalence of selected infectious agents in cats in Ireland (published 15 May 2010)
1 University Veterinary Hospital School of Agriculture, Food Science & Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Ireland 2 College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO., Ireland
Climate change could increase Irish Lyme disease risk (Irish Medical Journal 2010)
E Cullen, Dept Community Health Kildare
The Clinical Spectrum of Lyme Neuroborreliosis (Irish Medical Journal 2010)
M Elamin, T Monaghan, G Mulllins, E Ali, G Corbett-Feeney, S O’Connell, TJ Counihan
Department of Neurology, University Hospital Galway, Newcastle Rd, Galway
