Tick ​​monitoring, control needed in the US, research results

Some co-authors Texas A & M Agrilife Dr. Pete Teal, Researcher, Professor Regents of Texas A&M Department of Entomology.. Teal said Texas has been monitoring and controlling ticks since 1893, but needs a national database.

The authors of this study surveyed 140 vector-mediated disease experts working in state, county, and local agencies in the fall of 2018. No tick management program or central database of contacts was available.

The purpose of the study was to learn about the purpose and function of the tick monitoring and control program. Respondents were also asked if they had tested the mites for pathogens and barriers to success.

Nationwide, less than half of public health and vector control agencies are engaged in active tick surveillance, according to the survey. Only 12% of the surveyed organizations directly carry out or support tick control activities.

Lyme disease bacteria spread through the bites of infected deer ticks or black foot mites. Photo courtesy: CDC

This study June 17 of Journal of Medical Entomology.. In addition to Teel, the author was from Cornell University. University of Florida Gainesville; University of California Davis. University of Illinois; and Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Vector-borne Diseases. The author is also affiliated with five of CDC Vector-Borne Disease Regional Centers of Excellence..

“Ticks are responsible for the vast majority of vector-borne diseases in the United States, and our programming does not adequately meet our current needs for both monitoring and control,” a public health study. Said Emily Mader. Research and Program Manager, Northeast Region Vector-borne Disease Excellence Center, led by Cornell University.

Texas has a long history of tick monitoring

In Texas, early detection and management discovered alien mites, Teal said. Thanks to these efforts, mites have stopped colonizing.

“These ticks may have caused some devastating illnesses at high risk to humans, livestock and wildlife,” he said. “A national database of the types of ticks present and how their populations change with time and space is very valuable for public health and animal health needs.”

Dog mites can infect cow fever and other animal and human illnesses. Photo credit: CDC / James Gathany

Texas has been engaged in tick monitoring and management activities since 1893. At that time, the 23rd Legislature established the Animal Health Commission, which later became the Texas Animal Health Commission.

“I believe this is the longest and longest ongoing tick monitoring program in North America,” Teel said. The purpose of the committee was to protect livestock from dangerous diseases such as cow fever.

By the 1940s, these mites had been eliminated from 14 states by the resulting state and federal bovine fever control programs. The program has established a permanent quarantine zone along the Texas-Mexico border, and has since protected the US livestock industry. State-wide tick monitoring continues today..

“Today, the data in this program is growing in value and complementing public health needs,” said Thiel. “In Texas, we are expanding collaboration to share information, improve monitoring and testing, train a new generation of vector biologists, and improve best practices for tick control and tick-borne disease prevention. “

One such collaboration is Saiwan Center of Excellence in vector diseases, AgriLife is a partner. Other collaborators include academic institutions in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana, public health and animal health agencies. The center, headed by the University of Texas School of Medicine, is conducting research to expand surveillance for ticks and tick-borne pathogens. The center also trains future scientists and public health practitioners.

Highlights of a national survey of tick management programs

Less than half of tick management programs actively collect ticks in their area

About two-thirds (65%) of respondents say their program engages in passive tick monitoring, including accepting tick samples submitted by the public. However, only 46% said their programs were engaged in daily active tick monitoring, such as intensive collection of tick samples in their communities.

Only a quarter of tick management programs test ticks for pathogens

Twenty-six percent of national survey respondents in the state of Texas say their jurisdictions are conducting or financially testing for mite samples of pathogens. Only 7% of the respondents nationwide said their programs are functioning to detect such pathogens in animal hosts such as mice that can pass the pathogens to ticks in their area. It was

“Pathogen testing is an integral part of surveillance and is needed to understand the risk of tick-borne illness to the community,” Mader said. “There seem to be significant barriers to many tick monitoring programs across the country to access pathogen testing services.”

Poor ability to control public mites

Texas provides financial support for tick control. However, nationwide, only 12% of respondents say their jurisdictions control or financially support mites. These efforts have primarily focused on reducing the presence of ticks in animal hosts such as deer and rodents.

Due to limited resources, tick management programs need reliable and proven control methods, according to Mader.

“Unless they have been investigated to reduce the burden of ticks and tick-borne diseases and they haven’t changed, they’re not going to invest in a strategy,” she said. “Today, there is a great need to support this research. These types of assessments often take at least three years to complete and are a significant investment.”

Tick ​​monitoring and control takes place in different areas

The most common employment sectors among respondents were public health, mosquito control, co-operative expansion and agriculture. More than half (57%) of the respondents say the program works with academic partners such as Texas A & M Agrilife to monitor ticks.

Delayed sharing of information and data on ticks and public health

Less than a quarter, or 23%, of respondents say the tick management program will disseminate information to the local health sector. Only 14% report data to CDC.

Better support for tick management programs is important. Respondents generally cited the need for stable funding, human resource development, and standardized research-based guidance and protocols.

Recent national efforts begin to improve the mite situation

In December 2019, the Kay Hargantic Act mediated $150 million to strengthen national commitment to vector-borne diseases. The law included funding the CDC’s Vector Centers for Infectious Diseases Center of Excellence for five years until 2026. Over the last two years, the CDC has also issued guidance on best practices for monitoring some tick species.

These steps address some of the needs highlighted by survey respondents. The authors stated that the survey would provide an important baseline for measuring future progress and improvement.