DYNAMICS OF HUMAN PRIMARY-INFESTATION WIT H LYME BORRELIOSIS (ERYTHEMA-CHRONICUM-MIGRANS) AND DYNAMICS OF VECTOR TICK POPULATIONS (IXODES-RICINUS LINNE, 1758) - ATTEMPT AT CORRELATION

The authors proposed to verify if the largest number of cases of Eryth ema Chronicum Migrans (E.C.M.) (initial symptom of Lyme borreliosis) s eems to be directly related to the culminating point of the vector tic k population in France, where the principal vector of this disease is Ixodes vicinus Linne, 1758. In order to do this, an attempt was made t o establish a comparison between the nosological and acarological data (fluctuation of the tick population) by using published data. Given t hat the acarological bases, in particular, were insufficient, addition al information was correlation between E.C.M. and culminating point of Ixodes ''dammini'' populations would have been observed, the nymphal stage also being incriminated. This fact demonstrates that the size of the vector populations is not the only cause and that other factors c an intervene in a predominant manner (degrees of aggressiveness in tic k populations, degrees of the frequency of infestation of the tick by Borrelia burgdorferi during the year and the intensity of the contact between man and vector, etc...).