All the latest news stories from TickEncounter Resource Center surrounding ticks and tick-borne diseases.
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URI entomologist to establish test site for assessing effectiveness of tick control strategies
Date: 11.30.2011
Although winter is fast approaching, disease-carrying deer ticks are still active and abundant in southern New England, where a University of Rhode Island researcher has been collecting adult deer ticks at a rate of more than 350 per hour while walking in the woods, along parkland paths, and even on local roadsides in recent weeks.
"It's further evidence that the old rules about when and where ticks are active and how to avoid ticks don't apply," said Thomas Mather, URI professor of entomology and director of the Center for Vector-Borne Disease. "We are definitely seeing a continuing trend of finding more ticks in more places. That means that people are having more tick encounters than ever before, so more than ever they need to take precautionary measures."
Mather has just been awarded an $875,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control to conduct studies and develop tools that will help residents choose the best tick control strategies for their needs.
How NOT to Remove a Tick
Date: 11.14.2011
The most common response to our "how to remove a tick safely" video suggest to burn the tick in order to remove it. Our testing staff at TickEncounter have tried more than a dozen reportedly foolproof methods for tick removal. Learn why burning the tick is not the correct method!
Top Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Ticks These Days
Date: 09.27.2011
Once attached to people or pets, deer ticks are just hard to find! Their numbers are on the rise and they occur in more & more places – even your backyard! Read our "Top 10 Things Everyone Should Know About Ticks These Days" and stay disease-free.
Another Tick-Borne Disease? Borrelia miyamotoi may cause relapsing fever in humans
Date: 09.22.2011
Doctors in southern Rhode Island and other states in the northeastern United States occasionally report to TickEncounter that they've seen a case of non-Lyme (no bulls-eye, negative blood test), non-Anaplasma, summertime flu-like febrile illness that responds well to doxycycline therapy. Patients recover but what caused the illness?
Rare tick disease cases on rise in Rhode Island
Date: 07.26.2011
Article by: David Klepper
"More Rhode Islanders are testing positive for a little-known tick disease that is related to malaria, health specialists said yesterday."
NYTimes Article : Once Rare, Infection by Tick Bites Spreads
Date: 06.20.2011
"A potentially devastating infection caused by tick bites has gained a foothold in the Lower Hudson Valley and in coastal areas of the Northeast, government researchers have found."
"The condition, called babesiosis, is a malaria-like illness that results from infection with Babesia microti, a parasite that lives in red blood cells and is carried by deer ticks. Though far less common than Lyme disease, babesiosis can be fatal, particularly in people with compromised immune systems."
Once Rare, Infection by Tick Bites Spreads Written By Laurie Tarkan
Deer ticks nymphs are back!
Date: 06.01.2011
It's peak season for deer tick nymphs!! Throughout the eastern and mid-western U.S., unless you're ready to find and pick these tiny bloodsuckers off, it's more important than ever to protect yourself, your family,and your pets, when venturing into tick habitat.
Late May to early August are when most cases of Lyme disease are contracted. Increased outdoor activity combined with the extremely hard-to-see, poppy-seed size nymphs makes tick bites and disease transmission more common during this time.
Stand Up Against Lyme : New URI Almuni Affinity Chapter
Date: 04.01.2011
We've launched StandUpAgainstLyme.org, a brand new URI Almuni Affinity Chapter! Our goal is to allow URI Alumni to stand up and be counted against the spread of tick-borne disease. We strongly urge you to visit the new site and submit your story.
How many URI alums have had Lyme disease? Can we join together to help get some relief? Will our collective voices, when bundled with those of thousands of other victims, prompt political action finally leading to solutions to the tick problem? We hope you'll accept this invitation -- to STAND UP and be COUNTED -- as one who has been impacted by ticks and the diseases they carry.
Not URI Alumni? We'd still like to hear from you with any questions you may have or if you're willing to support this cause! If you're not a URI Alumni, this is a brand new initiative and we're still exploring how to best involve people not affiliated with the university.
New Tick Season Imminent: What's Your Tick Bite Protection Action Plan?
Date: 03.07.2011
Within a matter of days, a new tick season will start over much of the USA (and actually the north temperate zone around the world). But here it starts with ticks left over from last year.
The heavy snowpack from the winter of 2011 is finally receding in the northeastern USA. There's already been daytime temperatures in the 50's in the mid-Atlantic states. Things are starting to thaw, including left-over adult deer ticks that never found a host last fall. These are just the first of a parade of ticks that will follow in the coming months. Now is the right time to start getting your tick bite protection action plan ready.
Tick Bite Patch: RI Science & Technology Advisory Council Funds Project Looking For Solution To The Tick Problem In Rhode Island, And Beyond
Date: 02.08.2011
Development of the "Tick Bite Patch", a transdermal delivery system for anti-tick vaccines, is an all-Rhode Island collaboration between three well-established laboratories at the University of Rhode Island and two early-stage Rhode Island-based biotechnology companies.
RI-STAC funds will help the team develop proof of concept and early-stage prototypes for an anti-tick vaccine and transdermal delivery system. Prior work has shown that ticks use molecules found in their saliva to manipulate host immune defenses, helping the tick to steal blood, and in the process, transmit pathogens.
Suburbs See Uptick In Ticks
Date: 12.06.2010
WBUR Radio Boston produced an 18 minute show about a huge surge in the tick population in the suburbs around Boston. Guest include Rick Ostfeld, disease ecologist and senior scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.
From Adam Ragusea post on wbur.org :"Those of us who live in the city often feel as though we're under siege from various things like congestion, noise, traffic and sometimes even violence. But those who live in the suburbs have been under a siege of their own in recent years — from ticks.
November Survey : Your Pet's TickEncounters
Date: 11.30.2010
Thanks to everyone who completed the October survey. Clearly, a lot of you thought that ticks "go away" when the weather turns cold. If you've been following our November FaceBook postings, you now know that's just not so!!
We've posted a new survey investigating your pet's TickEncounters during November. It takes just a few minutes to complete and the information you provide will help us inform you and others better about preventing TickEncounters on your pets (and you).
Think cold temperatures kill ticks... think again!
Date: 11.01.2010
Our October survey shows that about 25% of respondents think that killing frosts and freezing temperatures kill adult deer ticks. If you're saying to yourself, "freezing temperatures don't kill ticks... what does!?", read our answer to find out what does kill these ticks.
Thank you to everyone who filled in the October survey. It's helping us better understand how ticks affect you, and what you're doing about those tiny blood-suckers. We hope you're taking action, and the survey gives us input on what information is needed to help you and your family stay tick-bite free.
We'll conduct a new survey in mid-November, so be sure to check in and join our growing number of TickEncounter followers. Your participation is helping create the "news you can use" when it comes to anti-tick activities.
We'll leave the October surveyup until mid-November if you still want to join in. As you can see, we don't collect or display any personal data through the survey, so feel free to participate.
New Photo Album: Road side tick collecting
Date: 10.21.2010
On Tuesday, we stopped on South Road on the way to URI in order to check for adult stage Deer ticks. We were able to collect about 20 ticks in 5 minutes! October is most certainly a big month for adult stage Deer ticks!
Visit our Facebook page if you'd like to see pictures of this brief endeavor.
Also, if you have a spare moment, please take our quick surveyabout your tick encounters this month.
URI entomologist awarded federal contract for tick control project in Jamestown
Date: 10.15.2010
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded a $77,000 contract to the University of Rhode Island's Center for Vector-Borne Disease to evaluate the feasibility of targeting deer with tick control interventions as a way of reducing the incidence of human Lyme Disease.
"This contract brings additional government resources into Rhode Island to help solve the growing tick problem in the state," said Thomas Mather, professor of entomology and director of the Center for Vector-Borne Disease.
"Deer-targeted strategies for disease control represent a largely untested opportunity for providing significant public health relief," he added.
Martha Relies on TickEncounter Tips To Remove Ticks Safely
Date: 10.05.2010
Finding a tick on your pet, or especially on YOU, can be shocking. Most people are disgusted by ticks, and removing attached ticks can be worrisome...
The Martha Stewart Show airing October 5, 2010 had a segment about preventing flea and tick bites on your pets that featured TickEncounter's popular tick removal video.
Threat of Lyme disease widens: Number of cases jumps in [Massachusetts] counties farther inland
Date: 08.23.2010
Boston.com recently published an article about the increase of inland Lyme disease cases in Massachusetts. Click the direct link below to read the article. Check out the interesting discussion going on in the comment section.
From the article: "Lyme disease, the tick-borne ailment once primarily a scourge of the Cape and Islands, is now rampant in swaths of Massachusetts where locally acquired cases were rare a decade ago. In Middlesex, Norfolk, and Worcester counties, the number of patients diagnosed with the bacterial disease surged more than fourfold between 2000 and 2009, according to figures the state Department of Public Health provided to the Globe".
HowStuffWorks.com: Stuff You Should Know podcast about "Why Ticks Suck"
Date: 08.01.2010
Charles W. Bryant and Josh Clark from the HowStuffWorks.com Stuff You Should Know podcast released a show called "Why Ticks Suck". The podcast covers a range of topics, from tick biology, tick questing, tick removal (rumors and best practices), insect repellents, tick life cycle and feeding, how ticks transmit disease, and more.
We've put together a group of images to go along with the show so you can see some of the things they are talking about. We'd like to thank Josh and Chuck for putting together this information for their podcast. We encourage everyone to open and view our stunning images while listening to Chuck and Josh's podcast. After the podcast, be sure to review TERC's best practices for tick-bite protection year-round.
RI Senator Jack Reed hosted a press event at Hasbro Children's Hospital
Date: 06.29.2010
RI Senator Jack Reed hosted a press event on Lyme disease prevention Monday June 28 at 12 noon at Hasbro Children's Hospital. Senator Reed joined URI's Dr. Tom Mather, RI Hospital's Dr. Jerome Larkin and Dr. Penelope Dennehy to discuss new efforts for battling Lyme and other tick-transmitted diseases.
Richard Salit from The Providence Journal was in attendance and has released an article on projo.com about the meeting, "URI scientist says expect fewer ticks, Lyme disease this summer".
Avoid Getting Tick-ed Off: May Is Lyme Disease Awareness Month
Date: 05.12.2010
VIV MAG highlights Lyme Disease Awareness Month in a recent wellness blog article ."May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, so we thought we'd share some tips for preventing tick bites this summer".
The article points out several very useful tips for preventing tick-bites this May and also for the remainder of the summer.
Chronic Lyme Clinic in RI
Date: 05.04.2010
For several years, doctors and infection control specialists at South County Hospital have discussed the idea of starting a Lyme disease clinic to serve patients with complex health issues not responding to traditional treatment. Now the hospital has opened its Lyme Disease Clinic and begun taking referrals from local physicians. This isn't a clinic for the person who discovers a tick or bull's eye rash somewhere on their bodies and wants to start treatment for suspected Lyme disease. It's for the patient with a case so complex "that they are not responding to therapies," [according to Lee Ann Quinn, manager of South County Hospital's Occupational Health Services and Infection Control].
