Impacts Over Time of Neighborhood-Scale Interventions to Control Ticks and Tick-Borne Disease Incidence

Ostfeld, Richard S.; Mowry, Stacy; Bremer, William; Duerr, Shannon; Evans, Andrew; Fischhoff, Ilya R.; Hinckley, Alison F.; Hook, Sarah; Keating, Fiona; Pendleton, Jennifer; Pfister, Ashley; Teator, Marissa; Keesing, Felicia

doi:10.1089/vbz.2022.0094

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This study provides novel insights into how the intention to vaccinate against LD might be considered by adults and caregivers living in the endemic regions of the United States if a safe and effective vaccine were available. Recent analyses showing that neither personal protection methods nor long‐term use of biological and chemical acaricides were consistently effective at reducing LD and other tick‐borne diseases demonstrate the need for a vaccine to reduce the incidence of LD (Eisen, 2022; Fischhoff et al., 2019; Ostfeld et al., 2023; Schwartz et al., 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intention to vaccinate for Lyme disease using the Health Belief Model

Stark,

McFadden,

Patel

et al. 2024

Zoonoses and Public Health

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AimsLyme disease (LD) cases in the United States are estimated to be approaching 500,000 annually. Protective measures, such as repellent use and wearing protective clothing are recommended by public health officials. However, no protective measure has been proven to be consistently effective, partly because they require consistent and persistent behaviour change. While safe and effective vaccines are in development, it is unclear what factors influence the intention to vaccinate against LD.This study uses the Health Belief Model (HBM) framework to determine key drivers associated with vaccine intention. The HBM is widely applied in public health research and uses the following constructs: perceived susceptibility and severity of disease, perceived benefits and barriers to disease prevention, and cues to action for disease prevention to predict health behaviours. To date, the HBM framework has not been applied to vaccination intention for LD.Methods and ResultsData were collected from 874 adults and 834 caregivers of children residing in US states endemic to LD. Sampling adults and caregivers allows us to explore how the intention to vaccinate differs among those at‐risk. Estimates from structural equation modelling (SEM) show that the HBM constructs explain much of the variation in intention to vaccinate against LD. Both adult and caregiver intentions to vaccinate are positively influenced by cues to action, perceived susceptibility of LD, and perceived benefits to vaccination. However, there is variation in the influence of constructs across the samples. Caregiver's intention to vaccinate is positively influenced by the perceived severity of LD and negatively influenced by safety concerns about the vaccine, whereas adult intention is negatively influenced by perceived barriers to vaccination.ConclusionA strong relationship of cues to action on vaccine intention in samples of adults and caregivers suggests the importance of a recommendation from a healthcare provider or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intention to vaccinate for Lyme disease using the Health Belief Model

Stark,

McFadden,

Patel

et al. 2024

Zoonoses and Public Health

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“…We collected data for this research as part of The Tick Project, a multi-year study to test the effects of environmental interventions on tick abundance and infection, as well as tick-borne diseases of humans and outdoor pets, in 24 residential neighbourhoods of Dutchess County, New York, USA (Keesing et al, 2022;Ostfeld et al, 2023aOstfeld et al, , 2023b, an area of very high endemicity for multiple tick-borne diseases (Keesing et al, 2022). In The Tick Project, we tested the effects of 2 commercially available products, Met52 and TCS bait boxes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Control neighbourhoods were untreated, 'both' indicates neighbourhoods treated with bait boxes and Met52 spray, see details in Methods. Effects of treatments on individual pathogens were previously reported inOstfeld et al (2023aOstfeld et al ( , 2023b and are included here for reference. Note that y-axis values vary.…”

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confidence: 99%

Effects of residential acaricide treatments on patterns of pathogen coinfection in blacklegged ticks

Ostfeld,

Adish,

Mowry

et al. 2024

Parasitology

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Medically important ixodid ticks often carry multiple pathogens, with individual ticks frequently coinfected and capable of transmitting multiple infections to hosts, including humans. Acquisition of multiple zoonotic pathogens by immature blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) is facilitated when they feed on small mammals, which are the most competent reservoir hosts for Anaplasma phagocytophilum (which causes anaplasmosis in humans), Babesia microti (babesiosis) and Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease). Here, we used data from a large-scale, long-term experiment to ask whether patterns of single and multiple infections in questing nymphal I. scapularis ticks from residential neighbourhoods differed from those predicted by independent assortment of pathogens, and whether patterns of coinfection were affected by residential application of commercial acaricidal products. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used for pathogen detection in multiplex reactions. In control neighbourhoods and those treated with a fungus-based biopesticide deployed against host-seeking ticks (Met52), ticks having only single infections of either B. microti or B. burgdorferi were significantly less common than expected, whereas coinfections with these 2 pathogens were significantly more common. However, use of tick control system bait boxes, which kill ticks attempting to feed on small mammals, eliminated the bias towards coinfection. Although aimed at reducing the abundance of host-seeking ticks, control methods directed at ticks attached to small mammals may influence human exposure to coinfected ticks and the probability of exposure to multiple tick-borne infections.

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“…While deer-tick-disease dynamics are complex (Kilpatrick et al, 2017), the focus on whitefooted mice as the main driver of tick and Lyme disease dynamics overlooks many other competent bird and mammalian hosts (Zikeli and Zohdy, 2020;Goethert and Telford, 2022). Experiments attempting to lower tick abundance by targeting ticks directly using the biopesticide Met52 (F52 strain of the fungus Metarhizium brunneum) and bait boxes attracting small rodents and applying tick-killing fipronil, failed to reduce tick abundance or the number of tick-borne diseases reported by humans (Ostfeld et al, 2023). In contrast, experimental deer reductions dramatically decreased tick abundance and Lyme disease incidence (Stafford et al, 2003;Kilpatrick et al, 2014).…”

Section: Human Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where have all the flowers gone? A call for federal leadership in deer management in the United States

Blossey,

Hare,

Waller

2024

Front. Conserv. Sci.

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Forests in the United States continue to lose biodiversity and many fail to regenerate due to high deer (family Cervidae) abundance. Declines in biodiversity and overall ecosystem health due to high deer populations increases prevalence of wildlife and human diseases associated with increasing tick abundances and decreases forest resilience and the ability to deliver benefits provided by healthy ecosystems. In the eastern and midwestern United States, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are the main stressor, while in the western U.S. elk (Cervus elaphus) and black-tailed and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) can become equally problematic. Federal and State Wildlife Agencies are responsible for environmental stewardship and management of deer, migratory and endangered species, yet they lack authority to address human health concerns or commercial interests (we acknowledge tribal authority to manage wildlife as an important contributor to conservation). Furthermore, State Wildlife Agencies have retained their traditional focus to manage wildlife for recreational hunters while neglecting their obligations to manage wildlife in the interest of all citizens rather than special interest groups. Fragmented institutional arrangements and widely scattered responsibilities for human health, environmental conservation and management, agriculture, and commerce among tribal, federal, and state agencies have allowed deer impacts to grow into nationwide conservation and human health crises. Given that local, regional, and state-level initiatives have failed to provide appropriate remedies, federal leadership is now essential to integrate concerns among disciplines, policy domains, regions, habitats, and biota. We recommend developing a National Strategy to build strong collaborative efforts and diverse and inclusive relationships across environmental, human health and economic interests. These should reach beyond state boundaries to comprehensively address interrelated deer, human health, forest, and conservation crises. A well-coordinated and collaborative approach has the potential to overcome traditional turf battles between tribal, state, and federal interests by recognizing joint responsibilities and obligations to manage wildlife as a public trust resource. This collective approach can protect species before they become endangered, avoiding further declines in environmental and human health.

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Impacts Over Time of Neighborhood-Scale Interventions to Control Ticks and Tick-Borne Disease Incidence

Cited by 11 publications

References 27 publications

Intention to vaccinate for Lyme disease using the Health Belief Model

Intention to vaccinate for Lyme disease using the Health Belief Model

Effects of residential acaricide treatments on patterns of pathogen coinfection in blacklegged ticks

Where have all the flowers gone? A call for federal leadership in deer management in the United States

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