Lyme disease ecology in a changing world: consensus, uncertainty and critical gaps for improving control

Kilpatrick, A. Marm; Dobson, Andrew D. M.; Levi, Taal; Salkeld, Daniel J.; Swei, Andrea; Ginsberg, Howard S.; Kjemtrup, Anne; Padgett, Kerry A.; Jensen, Per Moestrup; Fish, Durland; Ogden, N. H.; Diuk‐Wasser, Maria A.

doi:10.1098/rstb.2016.0117

Cited by 199 publications

(236 citation statements)

References 173 publications

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“…However, under changing climate conditions and increasing duration of annual fire seasons in California, this temporal mismatch between I. pacificus questing activity and dry-season wildfires may shift into the future resulting in different effects of fire on ticks and tick-borne disease ecology. Increases in abundance of questing adult and nymphal ticks in this study may have been due to these life stages failing to successfully locate hosts (Perkins et al 2006, Kilpatrick 2017, due to the reduced abundance of O. h. californicus and small vertebrate hosts within the burn extent. This increased abundance of vector ticks on the landscape may translate into higher risk of tick exposure and, potentially, elevated disease risk in the winter and spring immediately following summer wildfires in California in regions where rates of pathogen infection in tick populations are comparatively high.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Increases in abundance of questing adult and nymphal ticks in this study may have been due to these life stages failing to successfully locate hosts (Perkins et al. , Kilpatrick ), due to the reduced abundance of O. h. californicus and small vertebrate hosts within the burn extent. This increased abundance of vector ticks on the landscape may translate into higher risk of tick exposure and, potentially, elevated disease risk in the winter and spring immediately following summer wildfires in California in regions where rates of pathogen infection in tick populations are comparatively high.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

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Risk of vector tick exposure initially increases, then declines through time in response to wildfire in California

et al. 2018

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Abstract. Identifying the effects of human-driven perturbations, such as species introductions or habitat fragmentation, on the ecology and dynamics of infectious disease has become a central focus of disease ecologists. Yet, comparatively little is known about how the ecology of zoonotic disease systems responds to catastrophic disturbance events such as wildfires or hurricanes. In California, wildfire disturbance is centrally important to the ecology of forests and oak woodlands and is projected to increase in severity and extent under future climate change. Here, taking advantage of a recent wildfire as a natural experiment, we investigate the effects of wildfire disturbance on the ecology of tick-borne disease in California oak woodlands. We find that wildfire leads to elevated abundance of questing adult and nymphal western blacklegged ticks (Ixodes pacificus) in the year following fire, relative to unburned control plots, but that vector tick abundance declines sharply in the following two years. We find that the abundance of non-competent hosts (western fence lizards) for the Lyme disease bacterium is unaffected by fire, but that the abundances of important reproductive hosts (deer) for ticks and reservoir hosts (dusky-footed woodrats) for tick-borne pathogens are significantly negatively affected by fire. We found ticks and hosts infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato only within the burn extent and only in the year following the wildfire, though rates of infection were exceedingly low representing little risk to humans. In aggregate, due to the differential effects of this catastrophic disturbance event on different key host species and vector tick life stages in the transmission of tick-borne pathogens, we conclude that wildfire may potentially increase risk of exposure to vector ticks in the first year following wildfire in California, but that risk is dampened substantially in following years due to tick population declines and loss of key reservoir hosts from the system.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Risk of vector tick exposure initially increases, then declines through time in response to wildfire in California

et al. 2018

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“…Climate change affects both the reproduction hosts and the reservoir hosts involved in the tick lifecycle and spread of TBDs, respectively ( Figure 1). Increasing temperatures will expand the distribution range of both rodents and deer (28,29) as well as their abundance and activity (3,29).…”

Section: Increase In Number Activity and Range Of Hostsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of particular concern in North America are the blacklegged ticks that transmit Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease (LD) in southern parts of central and eastern Canada (2). It is now widely acknowledged that the increase in temperature associated with climate change has contributed to a general increase in the number, types, level of activity and geographical distribution of ticks in North America (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11) and has directly contributed to the northward spread of blacklegged ticks and LD into Canada (12). As a result, LD has emerged in Canada and the number of reported cases of Lyme disease continues to rise (13,14).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased risk of tick-borne diseases with climate and environmental changes

Bouchard

Dibernardo

Koffi

et al. 2019

CCDR

178

134

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Climate warming and other environmental changes have contributed to the expansion of the range of several tick species into higher latitudes in North America. As temperatures increase in Canada, the environment becomes more suitable for ticks and the season suitable for tick activity lengthens, so tick-borne diseases are likely to become more common in Canada. In addition to Lyme disease, four other tick-borne diseases (TBDs) have started to emerge and are likely to increase: Anaplasmosis; Babesiosis; Powassan virus; and Borrelia miyamotoi disease. Increased temperature increases the survival and activity period of ticks, increases the range of both reservoir and tick hosts (e.g. mice and deer) and increases the duration of the season when people may be exposed to ticks. Other ticks and TBDs may spread into Canada as the climate changes. The public health strategies to mitigate the impact of all TBDs include surveillance to detect current and emerging TBDs, and public health actions to prevent infections by modifying environmental and social-behavioral risk factors through increasing public awareness. Clinical care strategies include patient education, early detection, laboratory testing, and treatment. Affiliations

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“…Our data strongly suggest that a concerted effort to improve current tick management programmes, involving better targeted central funding from Welsh Government, may be required amongst Welsh hill farmers. As well as reducing the risk to human health from decreasing the possibility of Lyme disease (Kilpatrick et al, 2017), this may also benefit game and wildlife. Examples from elsewhere in the U.K., where such investment has been made from the private purse to underpin red grouse recovery for driven shooting, demonstrate how that this could significantly reduce environmental tick abundance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sheep tick Ixodes ricinus management on Welsh hill farms of designated conservation importance: implications for nationally declining birds

Baines

Becker

Hart³

2019

Medical Vet Entomology

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Impacts of sheep ticks Ixodes ricinus on livestock, gamebirds and wildlife are of concern across Europe. The present study describes livestock and tick management by 36 farmers from three upland sites of conservation importance in North Wales, where farmers consider that ticks have increased during the last 25 years. Sheep, average densities of 2.0 animals per ha were treated with pour‐on acaricides in spring, again in July, and also when removed from the moor in autumn. Given acaricide efficacy rates, sheep were susceptible to tick bites for half the period on the moor. Sheep from 17 farms were examined for ticks. Infestations were similar between farms and in relation to the acaricide used, averaging 9.3 ticks per sheep, although they were lower where the interval between successive acaricide treatments was shorter. Repeated sampling of sheep and red grouse chicks showed no annual difference in tick burdens on grouse chicks, which averaged 6.2 ticks per chick, although there were three‐fold fewer ticks on sheep in 2018 than in previous years. Tick bite rates on sheep and grouse were higher than elsewhere in the U.K. Most farmers interviewed would aim to improve their tick management using longer‐lasting acaricides and treating sheep more frequently, although they would need advice and financial help, which is currently unavailable via Government funded agri‐environment schemes.

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Lyme disease ecology in a changing world: consensus, uncertainty and critical gaps for improving control

Cited by 199 publications

References 173 publications

Risk of vector tick exposure initially increases, then declines through time in response to wildfire in California

Risk of vector tick exposure initially increases, then declines through time in response to wildfire in California

Increased risk of tick-borne diseases with climate and environmental changes

Sheep tick Ixodes ricinus management on Welsh hill farms of designated conservation importance: implications for nationally declining birds

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