A Survey of Tick Surveillance and Control Practices in the United States

Abstract

Tickborne diseases are an increasing public health threat in the United States. Prevention and diagnosis of tickborne diseases are improved by access to current and accurate information on where medically important ticks and their associated human and veterinary pathogens are present, their local abundance or prevalence, and when ticks are actively seeking hosts. The true extent of tick and tickborne pathogen expansion is poorly defined, in part because of a lack of nationally standardized tick surveillance. We surveyed 140 vector-borne disease professionals working in state, county, and local public health and vector control agencies to assess their 1) tick surveillance program objectives, 2) pathogen testing methods, 3) tick control practices, 4) data communication strategies, and 5) barriers to program development and operation. Fewer than half of respondents reported that their jurisdiction was engaged in routine, active tick surveillance, but nearly two-thirds reported engaging in passive tick surveillance. Detection of tick presence was the most commonly stated current surveillance objective (76.2%). Most of the programs currently supporting tick pathogen testing were in the Northeast (70.8%), Upper and Central Midwest (64.3%), and the West (71.4%) regions. The most common pathogens screened for were Rickettsia spp. (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) and bacterial and viral agents transmitted by Ixodes (Acari: Ixodidae) ticks. Only 12% of respondents indicated their jurisdiction directly conducts or otherwise financially supports tick control. Responses indicated that their ability to expand the capacity of tick surveillance and control programs was impeded by inconsistent funding, limited infrastructure, guidance on best practices, and institutional capacity to perform these functions.

Tick trails: the role of online recreational trail reviews in identifying risk factors and behavioral recommendations associated with tick encounters in Indiana

“…Additionally, results revealed that federal Land Management and a trail's Elevation Gain both were significantly associated with the number of Tick Presence Reviews. Given that others have indicated that sub-state level (municipal, county) governmental entities may need increased support for tick and pathogen surveillance [14], the association with Tick Presence Reviews identified here instead reinforces the crucial role of federal land management agencies in tick surveillance and control practices. However, the association between private land management-frequently under the control of a local land trust-and Tick Presence Reviews warrants further investigation.…”

“…We believe this research represents a low-cost and promising tool for identifying specific recreational trails that warrant more robust active surveillance, particularly at locations that may be under-surveilled, like municipal and county locations [14] as well as those managed by private institutions, such as local land trusts. Furthermore, despite the online and voluntary nature of data collected, identification of ticks at nearly 10% of trails can be contextualized within comparable research; in a study examining presence of Ixodes scapulari along more than 900 km of the Appalachian trail from West Virginia to Vermont, ticks presence was indicated at 21 (4.3%) of actively surveilled sites (N = 489) [39].…”

“…Additionally, extant literature has identified limited characteristics associated with tick presence in recreational spaces, such as specific habitat attributes [12,13]. For instance, whereas evidence indicates that a property's land management level influences its scope of tick surveillance and pathogen detection initiatives [14], the association between various management levels and tick presence is less well understood.…”

“…Our first research objective seeks to use online user reviews to pinpoint locations of tick encounter (Tick Presence), as well as identify specific spatial and temporal patterns in Tick Presence. Leading scholars have denoted the need for this type of scholarship to improve the use of spatial epidemiologic data in understanding vector-borne diseases, particularly calling for identification of patterns at finer scales, i.e., more detailed than county-level [14,20]. Second, given available data with each trail's online profile, we seek to identify trail characteristics, such as Land Management Type, that are associated with The Presence.…”

Behavioral characteristics and endosymbionts of two potential tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever tick vectors

“…Even minor changes in land use can affect the spread of other vectors, such as Culex mosquitoes, thereby increasing the potential incidence of West Nile virus and other mosquito‐borne pathogens (Bowden et al 2011). Given this dynamic situation, accidental tick introductions (Hutcheson et al 2019), and a recognition that tick distribution maps are outdated (James et al 2006, Estrada‐Peña et al 2018, Eisen and Paddock 2020), it is important to identify and document current tick populations and their associated pathogens (Mader et al 2020). Change is expected to continue to occur, and it has been hypothesized that the range of Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick) could expand by 50% in response to climate change (Sonenshine 2018).…”