The bites of hard ticks are the major route of transmission of tick-borne infections to humans, causing thousands of cases of diseases worldwide. However, the characteristics of the human population that is exposed to tick bites are still understudied. This work is aimed at characterizing both the structure of the population directly contacting ticks and the human behavioral features associated with tick bites. We studied 25,970 individuals who sought medical help after a tick bite at the Centre for Diagnostics and Prevention of Tick-borne Infections (CDPTBI) in Irkutsk City (Russian Federation). The demographic and behavioral characteristics of the human population were analyzed using z-tests for proportions, the Mann-Whitney test, and the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. The majority of bitten people were urban residents (70 %), and most of them were either of active ages between 30 and 74 years old (62 %), or children between 0 and 9 years old (approximately 20%). Tick bites occurred mostly in the range of 150 km around the location of the diagnostic facility (83 %). In comparison to the general population, significant differences were revealed in the representation of different age groups among bitten people. The population affected by tick bites included fewer men and women in the ages of 10–29 and over 75 years old than would be predicted based on the demographics of the general population. Vice versa, the proportions of people in the ages of 5–9 and 60–74 increased among bitten people. Among men, such activities (in order of occurrence) as “leisure and recreation”, “visiting allotments”, “foraging for forest food”, and “fulfilling work duties” tend to be more associated with tick bites. Among women, tick bites occurred mainly during “visiting allotments”, “leisure and recreation”, “visiting cemeteries” and “contact with pets and plants at home”. The overall vaccination rate was 12 %; however, significantly more men than women were vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis (up to 20 % vs. approximately 7 % respectively). The structure of the tick bite - affected population suggests that it is age-specific human behavior that mainly determines the frequency of contact between people and ticks. However, in several age groups, especially among children from 5 to 9 and people aged 30–39 years old, gender-related factors could significantly change the exposure of people to tick bites.

中文翻译：

---

俄罗斯东西伯利亚伊尔库茨克地区受蜱虫叮咬影响的人群结构和行为模式

硬蜱叮咬是蜱传感染向人类传播的主要途径，在全世界造成数千例疾病。然而，暴露于蜱虫叮咬的人群的特征仍未得到充分研究。这项工作旨在描述直接接触蜱虫的种群结构以及与蜱虫叮咬相关的人类行为特征。我们对伊尔库茨克市（俄罗斯联邦）蜱传感染诊断和预防中心 (CDPTBI) 的 25,970 名被蜱虫叮咬后寻求医疗帮助的人进行了研究。使用比例 z 检验、Mann-Whitney 检验和 Spearman 等级相关系数来分析人群的人口统计和行为特征。被咬伤者以城镇居民为主（70%），其中以30岁至74岁的活跃年龄（62%）或0至9岁的儿童（约20%）居多。蜱虫叮咬主要发生在诊断设施周围 150 公里范围内（83%）。与一般人群相比，被咬伤者不同年龄段的代表性存​​在显着差异。受蜱虫叮咬影响的 10-29 岁男性和女性以及 75 岁以上的男性和女性人数少于根据总人口统计数据预测的人数。反之亦然，被咬伤者中5-9岁和60-74岁年龄段的比例有所增加。在男性中，“休闲和娱乐”、“参观分配地”、“寻找森林食物”和“履行工作职责”等活动（按发生顺序）往往与蜱虫叮咬更相关。女性中，蜱虫叮咬主要发生在“探望公地”、“休闲娱乐”、“参观墓地”和“接触家里的宠物和植物”时。总体疫苗接种率为12%；然而，接种蜱传脑炎疫苗的男性明显多于女性（分别高达 20% 和约 7%）。受蜱虫叮咬影响的人群的结构表明，特定年龄的人类行为主要决定了人与蜱虫之间的接触频率。然而，在几个年龄组中，尤其是 5 至 9 岁的儿童和 30 至 39 岁的人群中，性别相关因素可能会显着改变人们被蜱虫叮咬的机会。