Article
Entomology
Amy C. Fleshman, Erik Foster, Sarah E. Maes, Rebecca J. Eisen
Summary: Tickborne diseases account for a significant portion of vector-borne diseases reported in the United States each year. By mapping the distribution of pathogens carried by ticks, we can identify areas of risk for tickborne diseases and develop targeted prevention strategies.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Letter
Immunology
Alejandro Ramirez-Hernandez, Esteban Arroyave, Alvaro A. Faccini-Martinez, Heidy C. Martinez-Diaz, Paola Betancourt-Ruiz, Luz-Adriana Olaya-M, Elkin G. Forero-Becerra, Marylin Hidalgo, Lucas S. Blanton, David H. Walker
Summary: This study identified a new pathogenic bacterial species in Colombian cattle that may be causing febrile syndrome.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Gregory E. Glass, Claudia Ganser, William H. Kessler
Summary: Tick-borne pathogens are a growing concern, and the CDC has developed guidelines for standardizing surveys of tick vectors to better monitor changes in their occurrences. Testing of previously generated species distribution models showed high accuracy in ruling out certain tick species in new surveys conducted in 2019. External validation through independent surveys of SDMs is crucial for increasing concordance and enhancing tick monitoring efforts.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Christopher B. Zinck, Prasobh Raveendran Thampy, Ryan O. M. Rego, Dustin Brisson, Nicholas H. Ogden, Maarten Voordouw
Summary: This study compared the infection prevalence and spirochete abundance of different strains of Borrelia burgdorferi in a rodent host. The results showed variations in tissue infection and spirochete load among strains, with differences observed between male and female mice. Furthermore, the study suggests that laboratory-based estimates of pathogen abundance can predict the strain composition of this tick-borne pathogen in nature.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Harriet McFadzean, Nicholas Johnson, L. Paul Phipps, Vanessa Swinson, Lisa A. Boden
Summary: The distribution of ticks and tick-borne diseases is expanding due to climate and land use changes. Babesia divergens is a zoonotic disease threat to cattle and humans in Great Britain, and its surveillance is currently limited. This study collected data on B. divergens infection in British cattle and identified geographical risk areas for disease transmission. The study also improved Babesia identification methods and found widespread bovine babesiosis in England and Wales, posing a risk to both cattle and humans.
Article
Entomology
Emily M. Mader, Claudia Ganser, Annie Geiger, Laura C. Harrington, Janet Foley, Rebecca L. Smith, Nohra Mateus-Pinilla, Pete D. Teel, Rebecca J. Eisen
Summary: The survey found that less than half of respondents reported routine, active tick surveillance, but almost two-thirds reported passive surveillance. Detection of tick presence was the most common current surveillance objective. The majority of programs supporting tick pathogen testing were in the Northeast, Upper and Central Midwest, and the West regions.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Lynn M. Osikowicz, Maria R. Rizzo, Andrias Hojgaard, Sarah E. Maes, Rebecca J. Eisen
Summary: This article describes the prevalence and diversity of Lyme disease in the United States. By using different detection methods, the authors found various species of spirochetes present in specific tick species, revealing the potential transmission of pathogens among ticks.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2024)
Article
Ecology
Lawrence H. Uricchio, Emily L. Bruns, Michael E. Hood, Mike Boots, Janis Antonovics
Summary: This study examines the role of infectious diseases in determining the spatial extent of host species. The findings suggest that pathogens with a sterilizing effect on hosts and those with frequency-dependent transmission can have strong effects on species' distributions. The study provides empirical evidence for the importance of multimodal transmission in constraining species distributions.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Erik Foster, James Burtis, Jennifer L. Sidge, Jean Tsao, Jenna Bjork, Gongping Liu, David F. Neitzel, Xia Lee, Susan Paskewitz, Diane Caporale, Rebecca J. Eisen
Summary: The geographic range of the blacklegged tick and its associated human pathogens has expanded, increasing the risk for tick-borne diseases. Understanding the time and location of potential exposure to infected ticks is crucial for prevention and diagnosis. Monitoring infection prevalence in ticks aids in assessing risk, but setting a fixed threshold is not feasible due to variability. Reducing repeated sampling does not significantly impact estimates of average infection prevalence.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Sarah A. Hook, Courtney C. Nawrocki, James I. Meek, Katherine A. Feldman, Jennifer L. White, Neeta P. Connally, Alison F. Hinckley
Summary: The study found that human-tick encounters can serve as an accurate proxy for risk of tickborne diseases in areas where these infections are common. Household characteristics associated with tick encounters were similar to individual characteristics, suggesting that human-tick encounters can be a robust proxy for tickborne disease risk in endemic areas.
ZOONOSES AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
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
Parasitology
Elise A. Richardson, Caitlin E. Taylor, Brittney Jabot, Estelle Martin, Carl N. Keiser
Summary: This study assessed the effects of habitat type and pathogen infection on host-seeking behavior in the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum. The results showed that infected ticks spent less time questing compared to uninfected ticks, and ticks collected from xeric hammock habitats spent over twice as long questing compared to ticks from successional hardwood forests.
Article
Microbiology
Chris Brooks, Connie L. McNeely, Sarah P. Maxwell, Kevin C. Thomas
Summary: This study provides an exploratory analysis of tick-borne diseases in the United States, examining the distribution and associated factors of self-reported tick bite encounters (TBEs) and diagnoses. The study finds that certain diagnostic data in animals, such as domesticated dogs, may serve as proxies for human tick-borne disease risk factors. These findings suggest that in the absence of a standardized national tick-borne disease database, proxies and relevant surveys may provide a working solution for studying tick-borne diseases.
Article
Microbiology
Dolores Genne, Whitney Jiricka, Anouk Sarr, Maarten J. Voordouw
Summary: Vector-borne pathogens can establish multiple-strain infections in both the host and the vector, but the impact of multiple-strain infections in the vector on strain-specific transmission to naive hosts is unclear.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Rebecca J. Eisen, Christopher D. Paddock
Summary: The United States has seen an increasing burden of tickborne diseases due to expanding cases and populations of medically important ticks, but there is often a lack of complete and up-to-date maps regarding their distributions and the prevalence of associated pathogens. The lack of systematic surveillance for medically important ticks and their pathogens hampers efforts to accurately assess acarological risks.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Kiersten J. Kugeler, Laura J. Podewils, Nisha B. Alden, Tori L. Burket, Breanna Kawasaki, Brad J. Biggerstaff, Holly M. Biggs, Rachael Zacks, Monique A. Foster, Travis Lim, Emily McDonald, Jacqueline E. Tate, Rachel K. Herlihy, Jan Drobeniuc, Margaret M. Cortese
Summary: Testing residual clinical specimens provided a similar seroprevalence estimate yet yielded limited insight into the local epidemiology of COVID-19 and might be less representative of the source population than a cluster-sampled community survey. Awareness of the limitations of various sampling strategies is necessary when interpreting findings from seroprevalence assessments.
PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Neeta P. Connally, Adam Rowe, Alison Kaufman, James Meek, Sara A. Niesobecki, Amberjean P. Hansen, Jennifer White, Courtney Nawrocki, Erik Foster, Alison F. Hinckley, Lars Eisen
Summary: Blacklegged ticks are vectors for Lyme disease and other human pathogens in the eastern US, with white-tailed deer being key reproductive hosts. The use of a 10% permethrin acaricide on deer through 4-Poster Tick Control Deer Feeders has shown promise in suppressing tick populations. However, the feasibility of implementing this method in residential areas in Connecticut and New York is challenging, with potential for better evaluation in natural or public areas.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Amy C. Fleshman, Erik Foster, Sarah E. Maes, Rebecca J. Eisen
Summary: Tickborne diseases account for a significant portion of vector-borne diseases reported in the United States each year. By mapping the distribution of pathogens carried by ticks, we can identify areas of risk for tickborne diseases and develop targeted prevention strategies.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Erik Foster, James Burtis, Jennifer L. Sidge, Jean Tsao, Jenna Bjork, Gongping Liu, David F. Neitzel, Xia Lee, Susan Paskewitz, Diane Caporale, Rebecca J. Eisen
Summary: The geographic range of the blacklegged tick and its associated human pathogens has expanded, increasing the risk for tick-borne diseases. Understanding the time and location of potential exposure to infected ticks is crucial for prevention and diagnosis. Monitoring infection prevalence in ticks aids in assessing risk, but setting a fixed threshold is not feasible due to variability. Reducing repeated sampling does not significantly impact estimates of average infection prevalence.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Peter D. Fowler, S. Nguyentran, L. Quatroche, M. L. Porter, V Kobbekaduwa, S. Tippin, Guy Miller, E. Dinh, E. Foster, J. Tsao
Summary: Amblyomma americanum, also known as the lone star tick, is a parasite that can transmit various pathogens to humans and animals. Its geographic range has expanded in recent years, including in the state of Michigan where populations have been established. Active surveillance has provided important data for understanding the situation and ongoing monitoring is necessary to inform public health officials and professionals about the associated health risks.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Micah B. Hahn, Andrias Hojgaard, Gale Disler, William George, Amanda Droghini, Renate Schlaht, Lance A. Durden, Sarah Coburn, Robert Gerlach, Rebecca J. Eisen
Summary: Rapid environmental change in Alaska and the Arctic has increased concerns about human exposure to ticks and the pathogens they carry. This study tested ticks collected from humans, animals, and wildlife in Alaska for common tick-borne pathogens. Established tick populations and various pathogens were found, highlighting the importance of monitoring and assessing local tick species and microbes.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
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
Guang Xu, Erik Foster, Fumiko Ribbe, Andrias Hojgaard, Rebecca J. Eisen, Sara Paull, Stephen M. Rich
Summary: In 2011, Ehrlichia muris eauclairensis (EME) was identified as a human pathogen transmitted by the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis. It was previously considered to be confined to the upper midwestern United States, but this study reveals its presence in Massachusetts through DNA detection in ticks and rodents.
VECTOR-BORNE AND ZOONOTIC DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Christina M. Parise, Ying Bai, Kevin S. Brandt, Shelby L. Ford, Sarah Maes, Adam J. Replogle, Alexander R. Kneubehl, Job E. Lopez, Rebecca J. Eisen, Andrias Hojgaard
Summary: Human cases of relapsing fever (RF) in North America are caused primarily by soft ticks (argasid) transmitting Borrelia hermsii, Borrelia turicatae, and hard ticks (ixodid) transmitting Borrelia miyamotoi. It is crucial to differentiate between the two tick species in order to effectively prevent and control RF infections. A study evaluated the use of recombinant antigens in serological assays to distinguish prior exposures to LD or RF Borrelia species in mice. The results showed that while some cross-reactivity occurred among soft tick RF species, the recombinant antigens successfully discriminated between LD and RF Borrelia and accurately segregated hard tick from soft tick RF Borrelia exposure.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Lynn M. Osikowicz, Andrias Hojgaard, Sarah Maes, Rebecca J. Eisen, Mark D. Stenglein
Summary: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have developed a bioinformatics pipeline, called MPAS, that can enhance the detection of human pathogens in ticks. This pipeline is portable and reproducible, with the ability to modify input parameters, assay primer, and reference sequences. It automates the analysis process, reducing the time needed for downstream analysis. The validation of the MPAS pipeline showed comparable results to previous analyses and improved sequencing resolution for co-infected samples.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Courtney C. Nawrocki, Nicholas Piedmonte, Sara A. Niesobecki, Adam Rowe, AmberJean P. Hansen, Alison Kaufman, Erik Foster, James I. Meek, Linda Niccolai, Jennifer White, Bryon Backenson, Lars Eisen, Sarah A. Hook, Neeta P. Connally, Victoria L. Hornbostel, Alison F. Hinckley
Summary: The 4-Poster Tick Control Deer Feeder (4-poster) device can reduce the population of blacklegged ticks by applying acaricide to white-tailed deer. A survey of residents from 16 high Lyme disease incidence counties in Connecticut and New York showed that 37% of respondents support placing 4-poster devices on their own property, 71% support placement on other private land in their community, and 90% support placement on public land.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2023)
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
Erik Foster, Sarah A. Maes, Karen M. Holcomb, Rebecca J. Eisen
Summary: The majority of vector-borne diseases in the United States are caused by blacklegged ticks. The geographic range of these ticks and their associated human pathogens has expanded, putting more communities at risk for tick-borne infections. A national tick surveillance program was initiated by the CDC to monitor changes in tick distribution and the prevalence of human pathogens. The study found that the prevalence of pathogens was highest in the Northeast, Ohio Valley, and Upper Midwest regions where Lyme disease is commonly reported.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Lynn M. Osikowicz, Maria R. Rizzo, Andrias Hojgaard, Sarah E. Maes, Rebecca J. Eisen
Summary: This article describes the prevalence and diversity of Lyme disease in the United States. By using different detection methods, the authors found various species of spirochetes present in specific tick species, revealing the potential transmission of pathogens among ticks.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2024)