The most effective preventive measures against Lyme borreliosis and other tick-borne diseases currently depend on awareness of ticks and the possibility of tick-transmitted infections, leading to fast detection and prompt removal of ticks. Workers in high-risk occupations and long-term residents of endemic areas are likely to recognise ticks and may have some Lyme borreliosis awareness. In contrast, many other people, especially city dwellers and visitors from non- and low-endemic regions, often have little or no knowledge of ticks and inaccurate perceptions of the disease (Gray et al. 1998. Zentralbl Bakteriol. 28:253-65). Visitors may acquire an infection during brief exposure in highly endemic areas, and they or their doctors may not recognise the risk, so a proportion of them could go on to develop disseminated or late disease manifestations, which may remain undiagnosed. To combat this, awareness of Lyme borreliosis and other tick-borne diseases in the general population should be increased throughout Europe, even in areas of low endemicity.

Gray JS, Granström M, Cimmino M, Daniel M, Gettinby G, Kahl O, et al. Lyme Borreliosis Awareness. Zentralblatt für Bakteriol. 1998;287: 253–265. doi:10.1016/S0934-8840(98)80127-8