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Full-Text Articles in Public Health

Surveillance For Ticks And Tick-Borne Pathogens In Kentucky, Anna Rosalee Pasternak Jan 2023

Surveillance For Ticks And Tick-Borne Pathogens In Kentucky, Anna Rosalee Pasternak

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

Tick-borne diseases are an emerging threat to human and animal health. In Kentucky, tick-borne disease surveillance has identified rising incidences of spotted fever rickettsiosis, ehrlichiosis, and Lyme disease. Since these diseases occur through the bites of infected ticks, effective prevention efforts are reliant upon knowing where the risk of exposure to tick bites exists. Historical data on tick distribution in Kentucky is variable, with very little reported on a statewide scale, leaving vector control workers, public health personnel, physicians, veterinarians, and others to rely on outdated, intermittent, or out-of-state information. In my dissertation, I surveyed ticks and select tick-borne pathogens …


Tick Surveillance And Pathogen Detection In Eastern South Dakota, Holly E. Black Mar 2022

Tick Surveillance And Pathogen Detection In Eastern South Dakota, Holly E. Black

Honors Thesis

Tick-borne diseases threaten the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems, but surveillance efforts are lacking in some regions. Throughout 2019, 2020, and 2021, we conducted tick surveys aimed at determining the status of the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis), the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) and the lone star tick (Amblyoma americanum) in eastern South Dakota. Each year, ticks were collected using a flagging method and identified in the lab. A subset were tested for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Dermacentor variabilis was the most commonly identified tick, …


Use Of Lymesim 2.0 To Assess The Potential For Single And Integrated Management Methods To Control Blacklegged Ticks (Ixodes Scapularis; Acari: Ixodidae) And Transmission Of Lyme Disease Spirochetes, Shravani Chitineni, Elizabeth R. Gleim, Holly D. Gaff Jan 2021

Use Of Lymesim 2.0 To Assess The Potential For Single And Integrated Management Methods To Control Blacklegged Ticks (Ixodes Scapularis; Acari: Ixodidae) And Transmission Of Lyme Disease Spirochetes, Shravani Chitineni, Elizabeth R. Gleim, Holly D. Gaff

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Annual Lyme disease cases continue to rise in the U.S. making it the most reported vector-borne illness in the country. The pathogen (Borrelia burgdorferi) and primary vector (Ixodes scapularis; blacklegged tick) dynamics of Lyme disease are complicated by the multitude of vertebrate hosts and varying environmental factors, making models an ideal tool for exploring disease dynamics in a time- and cost-effective way. In the current study, LYMESIM 2.0, a mechanistic model, was used to explore the effectiveness of three commonly used tick control methods: habitat-targeted acaricide (spraying), rodent-targeted acaricide (bait boxes), and white-tailed deer targeted acaricide (4-poster …


Analysis Of Genetic Structure And Pathogen Dynamics Of Ixodes Scapularis In Southwestern Virginia, Leemu Jackson Jan 2020

Analysis Of Genetic Structure And Pathogen Dynamics Of Ixodes Scapularis In Southwestern Virginia, Leemu Jackson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Ixodes scapularis, or the blacklegged tick, is the primary vector of Borrelia burgdorferi. This pathogen is the causative agent of Lyme disease, the most common vector-transmitted disease in the United States. Although I. scapularis is distributed throughout the eastern U.S., Lyme disease is only considered endemic in the northeastern region of the country. Prior to 2007, Lyme disease was uncommon in Virginia, but since then cases of Lyme disease have increased dramatically with a hotspot forming in the Roanoke-Blacksburg area. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether B. burgdorferi prevalence and the genetic structure of I. …


A Comparative Spatial And Climate Analysis Of Human Granulocytic Anaplasmosis And Human Babesiosis In New York State (2013-2018), Collin J. O'Connor Jan 2020

A Comparative Spatial And Climate Analysis Of Human Granulocytic Anaplasmosis And Human Babesiosis In New York State (2013-2018), Collin J. O'Connor

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) and human babesiosis are tick-borne diseases spread by Ixodes scapularis (the blacklegged or deer tick) and are the result of infection with Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti, respectively. In New York State (NYS), incidence rates of these diseases increased concordantly until around 2013, when rates of HGA began to increase more rapidly than human babesiosis, and the spatial extent of the diseases diverged. Surveillance data of tick-borne pathogens (2007 to 2018) and reported human cases of HGA (n=4,297) and human babesiosis (n=2,986) (2013 to 2018) from the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) showed a …


Blacklegged Tick (Ixodes Scapularis) Distribution In Maine, Usa, As Related To Climate Change, White-Tailed Deer, And The Landscape, Susan P. Elias May 2019

Blacklegged Tick (Ixodes Scapularis) Distribution In Maine, Usa, As Related To Climate Change, White-Tailed Deer, And The Landscape, Susan P. Elias

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lyme disease is caused by the bacterial spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted through the bite of an infected blacklegged (deer) tick (Ixodes scapularis). Geographic invasion of I. scapularis in North America has been attributed to causes including 20th century reforestation and suburbanization, burgeoning populations of the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) which is the primary reproductive host of I. scapularis, tick-associated non-native plant invasions, and climate change. Maine, USA, is a high Lyme disease incidence state, with a history of increasing I. scapularis abundance and northward range expansion. This thesis addresses the question: “To …