Dataset Information

Leveraging the Expertise of the New Jersey Mosquito Control Community to Jump Start Standardized Tick Surveillance.

ABSTRACT: Despite the rising incidence of tick-borne diseases (TBD) in the northeastern United States (US), information and expertise needed to assess risk, inform the public and respond proactively is highly variable across states. Standardized and well-designed tick surveillance by trained personnel can facilitate the development of useful risk maps and help target resources, but requires nontrivial start-up costs. To address this challenge, we tested whether existing personnel in New Jersey's 21 county mosquito control agencies could be trained and interested to participate in a one-day collection of American dog ticks (Dermacentor variabilis), a presumably widespread species never before surveyed in this state. A workshop was held offering training in basic tick biology, identification, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for surveillance, followed by a one-day simultaneous collection of D. variabilis across the state (the "NJ Tick Blitz"). In total, 498 D. variabilis were collected from 21 counties and follow-up participant surveys demonstrated an increase in knowledge and interest in ticks: 41.7% of respondents reported collecting ticks outside the Tick Blitz. We hope that the success of this initiative may provide a template for researchers and officials in other states with tick-borne disease concerns to obtain baseline tick surveillance data by training and partnering with existing personnel.

SUBMITTER: Egizi AM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6723063 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Leveraging the Expertise of the New Jersey Mosquito Control Community to Jump Start Standardized Tick Surveillance.

Egizi Andrea M AM Occi James L JL Price Dana C DC Fonseca Dina M DM

Insects 20190724 8

Despite the rising incidence of tick-borne diseases (TBD) in the northeastern United States (US), information and expertise needed to assess risk, inform the public and respond proactively is highly variable across states. Standardized and well-designed tick surveillance by trained personnel can facilitate the development of useful risk maps and help target resources, but requires nontrivial start-up costs. To address this challenge, we tested whether existing personnel in New Jersey's 21 county ...[more]

PMID: 31344868

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Dataset Information

Leveraging the Expertise of the New Jersey Mosquito Control Community to Jump Start Standardized Tick Surveillance.

Publications

Leveraging the Expertise of the New Jersey Mosquito Control Community to Jump Start Standardized Tick Surveillance.

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