More info on ticks and Lyme Disease
From: patricia curran [mailto:p...@cornell.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 1:52 PM
To: Patricia A. Curran
Subject: FW: Lyme disease surge predicted for NE U.S.
March 16, 2012
Lyme Disease Surge Predicted for the Northeastern U.S.
Boom-and-bust acorn crops and a decline in mice leave humans vulnerable to
infected ticks
Millbrook, NY - The northeastern U.S. should prepare for a surge in Lyme
disease this spring. And we can blame fluctuations in acorns and mouse
populations, not the mild winter. So reports Dr. Richard S. Ostfeld, a disease
ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.
What do acorns have to do with illness? Acorn crops vary from year-to-year,
with boom-and-bust cycles influencing the winter survival and breeding success
of white-footed mice. These small mammals pack a one-two punch: they are
preferred hosts for black-legged ticks and they are very effective at
transmitting Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.
"We had a boom in acorns, followed by a boom in mice. And now, on the heels of
one of the smallest acorn crops we've ever seen, the mouse population is
crashing," Ostfeld explains. Adding, "This spring, there will be a lot of
Borrelia burgdorferi-infected black-legged ticks in our forests looking for a
blood meal. And instead of finding a white-footed mouse, they are going to find
other mammalslike us."
For more than two decades, Ostfeld, Cary Institute forest ecologist Dr. Charles
D. Canham, and their research team have been investigating connections among
acorn abundance, white-footed mice, black-legged ticks, and Lyme disease. In
2010, acorn crops were the heaviest recorded at their Millbrook-based research
site. And in 2011, mouse populations followed suit, peaking in the summer
months. The scarcity of acorns in the fall of 2011 set up a perfect storm for
human Lyme disease risk.
Black-legged ticks take three bloodmealsas larvae, as nymphs, and as adults.
Larval ticks that fed on 2011's booming mouse population will soon be in need
of a nymphal meal. These tiny ticksas small as poppy seedsare very effective
at transmitting Lyme to people. The last time Ostfeld's research site
experienced a heavy acorn crop (2006) followed by a sparse acorn crop (2007),
nymphal black-legged ticks reached a 20-year high.
The May-July nymph season will be dangerous, and Ostfeld urges people to be
aware when outdoors. Unlike white-footed mice, who can be infected with Lyme
with minimal cost, the disease is debilitating to humans. Left undiagnosed, it
can cause chronic fatigue, joint pain, and neurological problems. It is the
most prevalent vector-borne illness in the U.S., with the majority of cases
occurring in the Northeast.
Ostfeld says that mild winter weather does not cause a rise in tick
populations, although it can change tick behavior. Adult ticks, which are
slightly larger than a sesame seed, are normally dormant in winter but can seek
a host whenever temperatures rise several degrees above freezing. The warm
winter of 2011-2012 induced earlier than normal activity. While adult ticks
can transmit Lyme, they are responsible for a small fraction of tick-borne
disease, with spring-summer nymphs posing more of a human health threat.
Past research by Ostfeld and colleagues has highlighted the role that intact
forest habitat and animal diversity play in buffering Lyme disease risks. He is
currently working with health departments in impacted areas to educate citizens
and physicians about the impending surge in Lyme disease.
----- Original Message -----
From: Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2012 7:04 AM
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fwd: [GeneseeBirds-L] ticks
I thought I would forward this information to Cayugabirds-L. We may see a
higher incidence of tick reports this year, as is being noted in Western NY, in
part due to the light winter weather.
Sincerely,
Chris T-H
Begin forwarded message:
From: Susan Robertson <serob...@gmail.com>
Date: March 20, 2012 10:02:49 PM EDT
To: <geneseebird...@geneseo.edu>
Subject: [GeneseeBirds-L] ticks
For those interested in having a tick tested for Lyme disease, the
University of Mass Extension will test ticks for $40 - see
http://extension.umass.edu/agriculture/index.php/services/tick-borne-disease-diagnostics
Cornell University has a very informative web page on ticks that has some
very good photos and descriptions of various species of ticks, how to prevent
tick bites, and how to remove a tick:
http://entomology.cornell.edu/cals/entomology/extension/medent/tickbiofs.cfm#Section5
I've gotten into the practice of periodically spraying a set of "outdoor"
clothes with permethrin which needs to be applied to clothes and allowed to dry
before the clothing is worn. It lasts for a couple weeks and up to six
washings. Cornell's web page says "Permethrin (0.5% concentration) provides a
high level of protection and effectively kills all tick species and
developmental stages that have been tested. In one field study, most ticks
removed from permethrin treated clothing were dead or had impaired mobility
while 99% of ticks removed from DEET (33.25% lotion) treated and untreated
clothing did not show any ill effects." When dry, permethrin has no odor.
Some companies sell clothing pre-treated with permethrin.
I also use tick & chigger gaiters (which I treat with permethrin) I got
from Forestry Suppliers as an alternative to tucking pants in socks:
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?mi=6954
For those of us that don't care for DEET-based repellants on bare skin,
picaridin, which one of the newer chemical formulations on the market in recent
years, is reported to work well against ticks and mosquitoes in concentrations
of about 20%. A Consumer Reports test published in July 2010 showed Natrapel
8-hour with Picaridin repelled ticks for 8 hours and mosquitoes for 7 hours (in
lab conditions). Picaridin doesn't seem nearly as greasy to me as DEET-based
products, and has virtually no odor. It also doesn't harm plastics and
synthetics like DEET can. Some picaridin products are Natrapel 8 hour with
Picaridin, Repel Sportsman Gear Smart (which I've found at Target), and Sawyer
Premium Inspect Repellent 20-percent Picaridin Pump Spray. Picaridin is
definitely harder to find in stores than DEET-based products, though.
In addition, as Steve Daniel said, careful tick checks are extremely
important.
Good birding!
Sue Robertson
_______________________________________________
GeneseeBirds-L mailing list - geneseebird...@geneseo.edu
http://mail.geneseo.edu/mailman/listinfo/geneseebirds-l
--
Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes
TARU Product Line Manager and Field Applications Engineer
Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850
W: 607-254-2418 M: 607-351-5740 F: 607-254-1132
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp
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