Search

Background: Tick-borne diseases are a growing public health threat in the United States. Despite the prevalence and rising burden of tick-borne diseases, there are major gaps in baseline knowledge and surveillance efforts for tick vectors, even among vector control districts and public health agencies. To address this issue, an online tick training course (OTTC) was developed through the Southeastern Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases (SECOEVBD) to provide a comprehensive knowledge base on ticks, tick-borne diseases, and their management. Methods: The OTTC consisted of training modules covering topics including tick biology, tick identification, tick-borne diseases, and public health, personal tick safety, and tick surveillance. The course was largely promoted to vector control specialists and public health employees throughout the Southeastern US. We collected assessment and survey data on participants to gauge learning outcomes, perceptions of the utility of knowledge gained, and barriers and facilitators to applying the knowledge in the field. Results: The OTTC was successful in increasing participants' baseline knowledge across all course subject areas, with the average score on assessment increasing from 62.6% (pre-course) to 86.7% (post-course). More than half of participants (63.6%) indicated that they would definitely use information from the course in their work. Barriers to using information identified in the delayed assessment included lack of opportunities to apply skills (18.5%) and the need for additional specialized training beyond what the OTTC currently offers (18.5%), while the main facilitator (70.4%) for applying knowledge was having opportunities at work, such as an existing tick surveillance program. Conclusions: Overall, this OTTC demonstrated capacity to improve knowledge in a necessary and underserved public health field, and more than half of participants use or plan to use the information in their work. The geographic reach of this online resource was much larger than simply for the Southeastern region for which it was designed, suggesting a much broader need for this resource. Understanding the utility and penetrance of training programs such as these is important for refining materials and assessing optimal targets for training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, is the primary vector of the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi in North America. Though the tick is found across the eastern United States, Lyme disease is endemic to the northeast and upper midwest and rare or absent in the southern portion of the vector's range. In an effort to better understand the tick microbiome from diverse geographic and climatic regions, we analysed the bacterial community of 115 I. scapularis adults collected from vegetation in Texas and Massachusetts, representing extreme ends of the vector's range, by massively parallel sequencing of the 16S V4 rRNA gene. In addition, 7 female I. scapularis collected from dogs in Texas were included in the study. Results: Male I. scapularis ticks had a more diverse bacterial microbiome in comparison to the female ticks. Rickettsia spp. dominated the microbiomes of field-collected female I. scapularis from both regions, as well as half of the males from Texas. In addition, the male and female ticks captured from Massachusetts contained high proportions of the pathogens Anaplasma and Borrelia, as well as the arthropod endosymbiont Wolbachia. None of these were found in libraries generated from ticks collected in Texas. Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter and Mycobacterium were significantly differently abundant (p < 0.05) between the male ticks from Massachusetts and Texas. Anaplasma and Borrelia were found in 15 and 63% of the 62 Massachusetts ticks, respectively, with a co-infection rate of 11%. Female ticks collected from Texas dogs were particularly diverse, and contained several genera including Rickettsia, Pseudomonas, Bradyrhizobium, Sediminibacterium, and Ralstonia. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the bacterial microbiomes of I. scapularis ticks vary by sex and geography, with significantly more diversity in male microbiomes compared to females. We found that sex plays a larger role than geography in shaping the composition/diversity of the I. scapularis microbiome, but that geography affects what additional taxa are represented (beyond Rickettsia) and whether pathogens are found. Furthermore, recent feeding may have a role in shaping the tick microbiome, as evident from a more complex bacterial community in female ticks from dogs compared to the wild-caught questing females. These findings may provide further insight into the differences in the ability of the ticks to acquire, maintain and transmit pathogens. Future studies on possible causes and consequences of these differences will shed additional light on tick microbiome biology and vector competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lyme disease (LD) is the most common tick-borne disease in the United States and in Europe. The aim of this study was to examine knowledge, perceived risk, feelings of anxiety, and behavioral responses of the general public in relation to tick bites and LD in the Netherlands. Methods: From a representative Internet panel a random sample was drawn of 550 panel members aged 18 years and older (8-15 November 2010) who were invited to complete an online questionnaire. Results: Response rate (362/550, 66%). This study demonstrates that knowledge, level of concern, and perceived efficacy are the main determinants of preventive behavior. 35% (n = 125/362) of the respondents reported a good general knowledge of LD. While 95% (n = 344/362) perceived LD as severe or very severe, the minority (n = 130/362, 36%) perceived their risk of LD to be low. Respondents were more likely to check their skin after being outdoors and remove ticks if necessary, than to wear protective clothing and/or use insect repellent skin products. The percentage of respondents taking preventive measures ranged from 6% for using insect repellent skin products, to 37% for wearing protective clothing. History of tick bites, higher levels of knowledge and moderate/high levels of worry were significant predictors of checking the skin. Significant predictors of wearing protective clothing were being unemployed/retired, higher knowledge levels, higher levels of worry about LD and higher levels of perceived efficacy of wearing protective clothing. Conclusions: Prevention programs targeting tick bites and LD should aim at influencing people's perceptions and increasing their knowledge and perceived efficacy of protective behavior. This can be done by strengthening motivators (e.g. knowledge, concern about LD, perceived efficacy of wearing protective clothing) and removing barriers (e.g. low perceived personal risk, not knowing how to recognize a tick). The challenge is to take our study findings and translate them into appropriate prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]