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Browsing by Author "Ostfeld, Richard S."

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    Effects of Neighborhood-Scale Acaricidal Treatments on Infection Prevalence of Blacklegged Ticks (Ixodes scapularis) with Three Zoonotic Pathogens
    Ostfeld, Richard S.; Adish, Sahar; Mowry, Stacy; Bremer, William; Duerr, Shannon; Evans, Andrew S.; Fischhoff, Ilya R.; Keating, Fiona; Pendleton, Jennifer; Pfister, Ashley; Teator, Marissa; Keesing, Felicia (MDPI, 2023-01-21)
    Acaricides are hypothesized to reduce human risk of exposure to tick-borne pathogens by decreasing the abundance and/or infection prevalence of the ticks that serve as vectors for the pathogens. Acaricides targeted at reservoir hosts such as small mammals are expected to reduce infection prevalence in ticks by preventing their acquisition of zoonotic pathogens. By reducing tick abundance, reservoir-targeted or broadcast acaricides could reduce tick infection prevalence by interrupting transmission cycles between ticks and their hosts. Using an acaricide targeted at small-mammal hosts (TCS bait boxes) and one sprayed on low vegetation (Met52 fungal biocide), we tested the hypotheses that infection prevalence of blacklegged ticks with zoonotic pathogens would be more strongly diminished by TCS bait boxes, and that any effects of both acaricidal treatments would increase during the four years of deployment. We used a masked, placebo-controlled design in 24 residential neighborhoods in Dutchess County, New York. Analyzing prevalence of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Babesia microti in 5380 nymphal Ixodes scapularis ticks, we found little support for either hypothesis. TCS bait boxes did not reduce infection prevalence with any of the three pathogens compared to placebo controls. Met52 was associated with lower infection prevalence with B. burgdorferi compared to placebo controls but had no effect on prevalence of infection with the other two pathogens. Although significant effects of year on infection prevalence of all three pathogens were detected, hypothesized cumulative reductions in prevalence were observed only for B. burgdorferi. We conclude that reservoir-targeted and broadcast acaricides might not generally disrupt pathogen transmission between reservoir hosts and tick vectors or reduce human risk of exposure to tick-borne pathogens.
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    Recent Progress in Lyme Disease and Remaining Challenges
    Bobe, Jason R.; Jutras, Brandon L.; Horn, Elizabeth J.; Embers, Monica E.; Bailey, Allison; Moritz, Robert L.; Zhang, Ying; Soloski, Mark J.; Ostfeld, Richard S.; Marconi, Richard T.; Aucott, John; Ma'ayan, Avi; Keesing, Felicia; Lewis, Kim; Ben Mamoun, Choukri; Rebman, Alison W.; McClune, Mecaila E.; Breitschwerdt, Edward B.; Reddy, Panga Jaipal; Maggi, Ricardo; Yang, Frank; Nemser, Bennett; Ozcan, Aydogan; Garner, Omai; Di Carlo, Dino; Ballard, Zachary; Joung, Hyou-Arm; Garcia-Romeu, Albert; Griffiths, Roland R.; Baumgarth, Nicole; Fallon, Brian A. (Frontiers, 2021-08-18)
    Lyme disease (also known as Lyme borreliosis) is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States with an estimated 476,000 cases per year. While historically, the long-term impact of Lyme disease on patients has been controversial, mounting evidence supports the idea that a substantial number of patients experience persistent symptoms following treatment. The research community has largely lacked the necessary funding to properly advance the scientific and clinical understanding of the disease, or to develop and evaluate innovative approaches for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Given the many outstanding questions raised into the diagnosis, clinical presentation and treatment of Lyme disease, and the underlying molecular mechanisms that trigger persistent disease, there is an urgent need for more support. This review article summarizes progress over the past 5 years in our understanding of Lyme and tick-borne diseases in the United States and highlights remaining challenges.