Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Lisa Couper, Andrew J. MacDonald, Erin A. Mordecai
Summary: Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in temperate zones, and climate change is expected to significantly impact disease incidence, particularly in the Northeast of the United States. Projections indicate a substantial increase in cases in the Northeast by 2050, but other regions are not projected to experience significant changes. The results emphasize the need for improved preparedness and public health interventions to mitigate the impact of climate change on Lyme disease burden.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Emily L. Robinson, Claire M. Jardine, Curtis Russell, Katie M. Clow
Summary: The risk of Lyme disease in Canada has increased due to the expansion of Ixodes scapularis and Borrelia burgdorferi. Different methodologies used by federal and provincial governments to determine local risk make comparisons challenging. This study compared seven Canadian risk classification methodologies, highlighting the strengths and limitations of each in measuring I. scapularis and B. burgdorferi risk. Accurate surveillance and assessment are important for communicating the risk and preventing tick-borne pathogen transmission.
ZOONOSES AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Benjamin W. Borgmann-Winter, Kelly M. Oggenfuss, Richard S. Ostfeld
Summary: The study found that peak densities of nymphal black-legged ticks were strongly synchronous in oak and non-oak forests between years, while larval population dynamics were weakly synchronous between the two forest types. This suggests that factors influencing immature tick density in oak-dominant forests may also impact tick population fluctuations in the surrounding landscape.
ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Jeff Hamik, Travis J. J. Bourret, Halie Smith, Molly Herman, Rachael Birn, Tammy Dawdy, Mona J. J. Zuffante, Matthew A. A. Donahue
Summary: In August 2021, two cases of Lyme disease were reported in Nebraska, with patients having local exposure to wooded areas. Epidemiological investigations confirmed that the two patients were exposed to ticks in adjacent wooded sites. Environmental investigations collected 12 ticks, identified as black-legged ticks, and found that 58.3% of them tested positive for Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., the bacterium causing Lyme disease. This study documents the presence of I. scapularis ticks and the occurrence of local transmission of Lyme disease in Nebraska for the first time, highlighting the need for continued surveillance and monitoring.
ZOONOSES AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Erin Hassett, Maria Diuk-Wasser, Laura Harrington, Pilar Fernandez
Summary: This study is important for understanding the risk of tick exposure and tick-preventative behavior among park visitors in Staten Island, New York City. The findings indicate a mismatch between areas with higher tick density and areas more frequently used by visitors. Additionally, visitors' tick prevention behaviors were closely related to their knowledge and perceived risk.
Article
Immunology
Evan M. Bloch, Jonathan R. Day, Peter J. Krause, Anne Kjemtrup, Sheila F. O'Brien, Aaron A. R. Tobian, Ruchika Goel
Summary: The incidence of babesiosis is increasing in the United States, with a higher prevalence in males and older patients. The disease is seasonal and primarily affects the Northeast and Midwest regions. Despite a higher severity of illness in a significant proportion of hospitalized patients, the mortality rate remains low.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Review
Entomology
Lucy Gilbert
Summary: Ticks are widespread and carry pathogens, impacting by climate change; tick-borne disease systems are complex with diverse drivers, modeling can help understand changes; future research should focus on assessing the resilience of ticks and tick-borne pathogens to climate change.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY, VOL 66, 2021
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Anna R. Pasternak, Subba R. Palli
Summary: Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne illness in the United States, is increasing in prevalence each year. A study conducted in Kentucky, a non-endemic area, revealed a more than 300% increase in reported human cases from 2010 to 2019. Monitoring the distribution of infected ticks is crucial for effective prevention strategies and disease surveillance.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Jaqueline Matias, Yingjun Cui, Xiaotian Tang, Andaleeb Sajid, Gunjan Arora, Ming-Jie Wu, Kathleen DePonte, Hiromi Muramatsu, Ying K. Tam, Sukanya Narasimhan, Norbert Pardi, Drew Weissman, Erol Fikrig
Summary: Animals can develop acquired resistance to ticks when repeatedly exposed to them. A recent study found that guinea pigs immunized with an mRNA-lipid nanoparticle vaccine (19ISP) encoding 19 proteins from Ixodes scapularis showed resistance to ticks. The researchers discovered that a lipid nanoparticle containing 12 specific mRNAs, including the targets that elicited strong immune responses, was able to induce robust resistance to ticks.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Karen M. Holcomb, Noelle Khalil, Duncan W. Cozens, Jamie L. Cantoni, Doug E. Brackney, Megan A. Linske, Scott C. Williams, Goudarz Molaei, Rebecca J. Eisen
Summary: Tick-borne diseases pose a continuous threat to human health in the United States. This study compared active and passive tick surveillance methods to assess their concordance in measuring tick and pathogen presence, infection prevalence, and tick abundance. The findings showed consistent estimates of tick and pathogen presence and infection prevalence, but variable comparisons for tick abundance estimates.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Julia R. Brennan, Samantha Boychuck, Anthony John Washkwich, Henry John-Alder, Dina M. Fonseca
Summary: Forest thinning is a management practice used to improve forest health, reduce wildfire risk, and manage wildlife. This study found that forest thinning resulted in warmer and drier microclimates, leading to a significant reduction in tick abundance. The results suggest that forest management strategies can effectively lower the risk of tick-borne diseases. Rating: 8/10.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Felicia Keesing, Stacy Mowry, William Bremer, Shannon Duerr, Andrew S. Evans, Ilya R. Fischhoff, Alison F. Hinckley, Sarah A. Hook, Fiona Keating, Jennifer Pendleton, Ashley Pfister, Marissa Teator, Richard S. Ostfeld
Summary: This study demonstrates that while certain methods can reduce the abundance of ticks at small spatial scales, it may not necessarily lower the incidence of tickborne diseases (TBDs) in humans. However, these methods are effective in reducing TBDs in pets.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lennart Justen, Duncan Carlsmith, Susan M. Paskewitz, Lyric C. Bartholomay, Gebbiena M. Bron
Summary: Ticks and tick-borne diseases are increasing public health threats in North America and Europe, with the potential for accurate real-time tick image identification through smartphone apps. However, current models still fall short of expert performance in identifying tick species accurately.
Article
Entomology
Jerome Pelletier, Jean-Philippe Rocheleau, Cecile Aenishaenslin, Gabrielle Dimitri Masson, L. Robbin Lindsay, Nicholas H. Ogden, Catherine Bouchard, Patrick A. Leighton
Summary: The use of fluralaner baits shows promising results in reducing the infestation of small mammals by immature stages of I. scapularis, thereby decreasing the density of infected ticks in the environment.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
James C. Burtis, Jenna Bjork, Tammi L. Johnson, Elizabeth Schiffman, David Neitzel, Rebecca J. Eisen
Summary: Ixodes scapularis, the primary vector of Lyme disease, poses a threat to public health in the United States. The incidence of Lyme disease is increasing rapidly in upper midwestern states, such as Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The phenology of host-seeking I. scapularis affects the risk of tick bites. We conducted a study in Minnesota from 2015 to 2017 and found that adult ticks were active throughout the collection season, with peaks in April and sporadic activity in the summer and October. Nymphs were most active from May to August, with peak activity in June. These findings highlight the risk of human exposure to I. scapularis from April to November and are important for understanding the ecoepidemiology of Lyme disease.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
J. -P. Rocheleau, J. Arsenault, N. H. Ogden, L. R. Lindsay, M. Drebot, P. Michel
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2017)
Article
Infectious Diseases
S. Weger, B. Elkin, R. Lindsay, T. Bollinger, V. Crichton, A. Andonov
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2017)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
J. P. Rocheleau, P. Michel, L. R. Lindsay, M. Drebot, A. Dibernardo, N. H. Ogden, A. Fortin, J. Arsenault
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2017)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
J. P. Rocheleau, P. Michel, L. R. Lindsay, M. Drebot, A. Dibernardo, N. H. Ogden, A. Fortin, J. Arsenault
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2017)
Article
Entomology
Vanessa Gabriele-Rivet, Jules K. Koffi, Yann Pelcat, Julie Arsenault, Angela Cheng, L. Robbin Lindsay, Timothy J. Lysyk, Kateryn Rochon, Nicholas H. Ogden
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2017)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Katie M. Clow, Patrick A. Leighton, Nicholas H. Ogden, L. Robbin Lindsay, Pascal Michel, David L. Pearl, Claire M. Jardine
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nicholas H. Ogden, Julie Arsenault, Todd F. hatchette, Samir Mechai, L. Robbin Lindsay
Article
Infectious Diseases
Katie M. Clow, Nicholas H. Ogden, L. Robbin Lindsay, Pascal Michel, David L. Pearl, Claire M. Jardine
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2017)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bryan D. Griffin, Kar Muthumani, Bryce M. Warner, Anna Majer, Mable Hagan, Jonathan Audet, Derek R. Stein, Charlene Ranadheera, Trina Racine, Marc-Antoine De la Vega, Jocelyne Piret, Stephanie Kucas, Kaylie N. Tran, Kathy L. Frost, Christine De Graff, Geoff Soule, Leanne Scharikow, Jennifer Scott, Gordon McTavish, Valerie Smid, Young K. Park, Joel N. Maslow, Niranjan Y. Sardesai, J. Joseph Kim, Xiao-jian Yao, Alexander Bello, Robbin Lindsay, Guy Boivin, Stephanie A. Booth, Darwyn Kobasa, Carissa Embury-Hyatt, David Safronetz, David B. Weiner, Gary P. Kobinger
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2017)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Parnali Dhar-Chowdhury, Kishor Kumar Paul, C. Emdad Haque, Shakhawat Hossain, L. Robbin Lindsay, Antonia Dibernardo, W. Abdullah Brooks, Michael A. Drebot
PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES
(2017)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
David A. McVea, Chelsea G. Himsworth, David M. Patrick, L. Robbin Lindsay, Michael Kosoy, Thomas Kerr
VECTOR-BORNE AND ZOONOTIC DISEASES
(2018)
Article
Immunology
Glenn Patriquin, Michael Drebot, Teri Cole, Robbin Lindsay, Emily Schleihauf, B. Lynn Johnston, Kristina Dimitrova, Maya Traykova-Andonova, Angela Mask, David Haldane, Todd F. Hatchette
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2018)
Review
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Alaa Badawi, Maria Shering, Shusmita Rahman, L. Robbin Lindsay
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH-REVUE CANADIENNE DE SANTE PUBLIQUE
(2017)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
David Safronetz, Nafomon Sogoba, Sory Ibrahim Diawara, Sidy Bane, Kyle Rosenke, Ousmane Maiga, Matt Boisen, Robert F. Garry, Luis M. Branco, L. Robbin Lindsay, Sekou F. Traore, Heinz Feldmann, Seydou Doumbia
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE
(2017)
Article
Primary Health Care
Salima Gasmi, Nicholas H. Ogden, Patrick A. Leighton, Ariane Adam-Poupart, Francois Milord, L. Robbin Lindsay, Sapha Barkati, Karine Thivierge
BMC FAMILY PRACTICE
(2017)