![]() Bb isolates cultured from vector ticks, reservoir hosts, or skin lesions of patients with early-stage LD infection will be characterized genetically with several methods, and their phylogenetic relatedness to other genospecies of Bb will be determined by maximum persimony analyses. The prevalence of infection in free-living or host-fed ticks and their attendant vertebrates with Bb and 2 other emerging tick-borne disease agents (Ehrlichia spp.) will be determined by tick xenodiagnosis and with standard microbiologic and genetic techniques. "Now we need some technology or changes in behavior that are going to help us actually prevent infection."Įrin Blakemore is a science writer based in Boulder, Colo.Project Methods A combination of field and laboratory methods will be employed to calculate the relative reservoir potential (Rs) of small mammals for Bb in deciduous woodlands. From there, says Nieto, it's up to others to use the dataset for good. What's next for the tick collectors? First, says Nieto, they'll dig deeper into the ticks' DNA, and hopefully open up another wave of free tick analysis in an attempt to broaden the data even more. ![]() Socioeconomic barriers to the internet may also have limited participants, and there's no way to verify how many participants misreported information about the ticks that bit them. Nieto says his team didn't ask for the data out of privacy concerns and a desire to encourage participation.Īnother limitation is that people who never hear about a citizen science initiative can't participate, and the study wasn't advertised beyond an initial PR campaign conducted by the Bay Area Lyme Foundation, which funded the project. Since ticks can hang out on the body for days, they could have traveled along with people or animals on the move and resulted in misreporting. They didn't find out if and where people had traveled before they found the ticks. The study's authors admit there are some real limitations to their work. "I really believe that scientific research shouldn't be just for scientists." "That's the power of science," says Walter. Shots - Health News Lyme Disease Is On The Rise Again. But when it comes to assessing the risk of potential infection from tick-born pathogens, figuring out which ticks commonly bite humans, what pathogens they carry, and how many people actually get sick from bites, the picture's always been blurry. Public health officials track the number of reported cases of tick-borne diseases, and researchers can study ticks in their local habitats. They say it shows the potential of citizen science to fill in gaps in research-and that data gathered this way could ultimately help form a more proactive public health response when it comes to identifying and preventing tick-borne disease. Nieto, a microbiologist at Northern Arizona University, and his team published the results of their brief tick-collecting experiment Thursday in PLOS One. Nieto's project wasn't just a goodwill gesture: It was an unprecedented attempt to include the public in tick research. ![]() You'd get back info on the critter that bit you and, if applicable, a pathology report. But between August 2016 and January 2017, you could have gotten a free analysis by sending it to Nathan Nieto's lab at Northern Arizona University. New research seeks to a better picture of the geographic spread of ticks that carry dangerous pathogens.Ĭould the tick that just bit you carry a pathogen that causes Lyme disease or another ailment? If you're worried, you could ship the offending bug to a private testing service to find out. Time outdoors leaves you vulnerable to tick bites and the diseases they can transmit.
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