The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture supports vector-borne disease research conducted at land-grant universities across the country.
This story first appeared on AgInnovation and is reprinted with permission.
In the mid-2000s, Amber Guillemette of eastern Connecticut couldn't understand why she was always tired and in pain. It made no sense to me as a young, healthy person, but she easily attributed her symptoms to increased stress at school.
A routine doctor's visit and blood tests later revealed she had Lyme disease, which is transmitted by ticks, and treatment began, but 17 years later she still faces medical challenges.
“My life changed forever when I was a sophomore in high school after one tick bite, and I didn't even witness it,” Guillemette said. “It caused me anxiety and some food allergies that have continued into adulthood. I was put on a PICC for two months. [peripherally inserted central catheter] “I didn't go to school and spent most of my time outside of school sleeping. I was healthy at the time and could go to school.”
It's a cautionary tale, and one that's becoming more common as vector-borne disease outbreaks steadily increase in the northeastern United States.
Many people will recall that finding a tick was a rare occurrence during their childhood, and activities enjoyed by previous generations, such as playing in the grass, are rarely engaged in by today's young people. Multiple environmental factors, including climate change, are contributing to the increase in vector-borne diseases, including Lyme disease, throughout the Northeast.
The Northeastern land-grant universities have a research and extension mission that is working collaboratively on many fronts to address the growing problem of vector-borne diseases such as Lyme disease, West Nile virus, avian influenza, and many other diseases that target the region.
A growing problem
Historically, vector-borne diseases were associated with tropical and subtropical regions where vectors (organisms that carry and transmit disease) can thrive. Many agencies and organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization, and ministries of health, work to combat the health and safety concerns posed by vector-borne diseases. Land-grant university research and extension education outreach are essential in informing these agencies and sharing science-based resources to both health professionals and local residents.
Climate change is making the situation worse, causing these insects, such as ticks and mosquitoes, to thrive in greater numbers in areas where they were not found before, including the northeastern United States.
Other vectors include ticks and mosquitoes, as well as black flies, fleas, lice and sandflies. They feed on the blood of human or animal hosts, transmitting infectious agents in the process. The growth and expansion of vector populations poses a threat to the health and safety of humans, as well as livestock and wildlife.
Lyme, Connecticut, has a notorious history associated with the disease: In 1975, a group of adults and children in the area experienced arthritis-like symptoms similar to those described by Guillemette. It took doctors and researchers several years to pinpoint the exact cause, but by 1977, they were able to trace it back to the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis), known to many today simply as the Lyme tick or deer tick.
Currently, CDC maps show that Lyme disease is hitting the Northeast US hard, with cases rising in the upper Midwest and areas of concern across the country. So far, the vast majority of cases are here in backyards in the Northeast. Cases will continue to rise due to factors including expanding black-legged tick habitat, longer tick seasons (partly due to climate change), and more people spending time outdoors.
Science-based solutions
The impacts of vector-borne diseases on human and animal health and safety may seem frightening, but research and extension efforts at Northeastern land-grant universities are helping with science-based solutions.
The Northeast Agricultural Experiment Stations and Cooperative Extension System have multiple research and education outreach programs aimed at monitoring, mitigating and preventing vector-borne diseases. After identifying a disease, the first step is surveillance. The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, the University of Connecticut Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, UMASS Tick Testing Resources and the New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, among others, offer tick testing and disease surveillance. These services help researchers and health officials understand the prevalence of the problem, track its spread and devise potential mitigation and prevention strategies.
Researchers use this data and others to advance their research. For example, researchers at Penn State's College of Agriculture use monitoring, analytics, and historical data to identify high-risk areas, look for ecological trends, and use all the data to create predictive models that assess the risk of tick-borne diseases. This information is then shared with Penn State Extension and the Department of Health to develop educational outreach to help residents prevent disease.
Curiously, not everyone who is bitten by a tick that carries Lyme disease becomes infected with the disease, and researchers at the University of Delaware are studying the competition between strains and patterns of human infection.
