This study was carried out in October 1993 to determine the antibody prevalence against Borrelia burgdorferi in the inhabitants of two forest villages where Ixodes ricinus ticks are known to exist. Seropositivity was found to be 35.8 % with ELISA (Virotech) in 106 villagers who seemed to be healthy. The villagers studied, did not have any previous history attributable to Lyme disease. However, the rate of seropositivity was 1.4 % in 216 people who lived in the town and who had no contact with ticks (control group); the difference between the two groups was significant (p