Commitment of Parents and Doctors of Irkutsk City to Vaccination against Tick-Borne Encephalitis

Today in Irkutsk region, we face a noticeable increase in the number of cases of ixodid tick sucking to urban residents. Ticks, found in the territory of Irkutsk city, were detected to have all currently known pathogens causing such serious diseases as tick-borne encephalitis, tick-borne borreliosis, monocytic ehrlichiosis, granulocytic anaplasmosis, rickettsiosis and tick-borne recurrent fever. These diseases may develop to severe  forms, and lead to disability or even death.  

The aim of the study was to evaluate the opinion of parents and doctors on vaccination against tick-borne viral encephalitis in Irkutsk based on the data of an anonymous questionnaire survey.

Material and methods. The descriptive retrospective epidemiological study was conducted between November 2018 and January 2019. It included 1620 parents and 193 doctors of various specialties in Irkutsk. Statistical processing of the material was carried out using Excel tables (Windows 2010) and the Statistica 6.0 program.

Results and discussion. In general, the attitude towards vaccination looks positive – 98 % of the parents vaccinate their children. 11.3 % of parents vaccinate their children from tick-borne encephalitis, 23.3 % of doctors vaccinate themselves. Every fourth doctor vaccinates his child against this infection.

Conclusion. Insufficient vaccination coverage against tick-borne encephalitis is noted both among the population and among doctors of Irkutsk. It is important to introduce health education for the population and to adopt new ways for improving the qualifications of doctors in immunization issues.

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