Ongoing and Published Research
Ixodes scapularis (blacklegged tick)
- 2015-2018 Advanced Molecular Detection (AMD) Study (MN, TN) — CDC is partnering with the MN Department of Health, Mayo Clinic, TN Department of Health, and Vanderbilt University to obtain up to 30,000 clinical specimens from patients with suspected tickborne illness over a 3-year period. CDC will use AMD methods (16s metagenomics) to identify the specific tickborne bacteria that caused these patients’ illnesses. This multi-disciplinary project will build critical molecular and bioinformatics capacity that will help advance tickborne disease detection and surveillance.
- 2014-2016 Cost of Lyme Disease (COLD) study — A prospective, descriptive study among Lyme disease patients in CT, MD, MN, and NY to assess total societal and individual level costs of Lyme disease.
- 2012-16 Bait Box Intervention (CT) — A prospective, blinded, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of commercially available, rodent-targeted bait boxes to prevent Lyme and other tickborne diseases in humans.
- Pilot study began in 2012 with 125 households.
- In 2013, the study expanded to 500 additional households.
- 2011-12 Lyme and Other Tickborne Diseases Prevention Study (CT, MD, NY) — A prospective, blinded, placebo-controlled trial of 2700 households to evaluate the efficacy of a single springtime application of commercially available, EPA-registered acaricide (bifenthrin) to prevent Lyme and other tickborne diseases in humans.
- Jones EH, Hinckley AF, Hook SA, Meek JI, Backenson B, Kugeler KJ, Feldman KA. Pet ownership increases human risk of encountering ticks. Zoonoses Public Health. 2017 Jun 19. Epub ahead of print.
- Hinckley AF, Meek JI, Ray JAE, Niesobecki SA, Connally NP, Feldman KA, Jones EH, Backenson PB, White JL, Lukacik G, Kay AB, Miranda WP, Mead PS. Effectiveness of residential acaricides to prevent Lyme and other tickborne diseases in humans. J Infect Dis. 2016 Jul 15;214(2):182-8..
- Feldman KA, Connally NP, Hojgaard A, Jones EH, White JL, Hinckley AF. Abundance and infection rates of Ixodes scapularis nymphs collected from residential properties in Lyme disease-endemic areas of Connecticut, Maryland, and New York. J Vector Ecol. 2015 Jun;40(1):198-201.
- Underreporting Study (MD, MN, NY) — Study to determine the degree to which Lyme and other tickborne diseases are underreported and explore methods to enhance surveillance.
- Bjork J, Brown C, Friedlander H, Schiffman E, Neitzel D. Validation of random sampling as an estimation procedure for Lyme disease surveillance in Massachusetts and Minnesota. Zoonoses Public Health. 2016 Aug 3. [Epub ahead of print]
- Lukacik G, White J, Noonan-Toly C, DiDonato C, Backenson PB. Lyme disease surveillance using sampling estimation: Evaluation of an alternative methodology in New York state. Zoonoses Public Health. 2016 Feb 29. [epub ahead of print]
- Rutz HJ, Wee S, Feldman KA. Characterizing Lyme disease surveillance in an endemic state. Zoonoses Public Health. 2016 Jul 29. [Epub ahead of print]
- Schiffman EK, McLaughlin C, Ray JA, Kemperman MM, Hinckley AF, Friedlander HG, Neitzel DF. Underreporting of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases in residents of a high-incidence county, Minnesota, 2009. Zoonoses Public Health. 2016 Jul 8. [Epub ahead of print]
- White J, Noonan-Toly C, Lukacik G, Thomas N, Hinckley A, Hook S, Backenson PB. Lyme disease surveillance in New York State: an assessment of case underreporting. Zoonoses Public Health. 2016 Sep 10. [Epub ahead of print]
- Laboratory Survey (CT, MD, MN, NY) — A survey of major commercial testing labs to determine current testing methods and volume for common tickborne diseases. Researchers used survey data from large commercial laboratories in the United States to estimate the cost of testing and number of infections among patients from whom specimens were submitted.
- Hinckley AF, Connally NP, Meek JI, Johnson BJ, Kemperman MM, Feldman KA, White JL, Mead PS. Lyme Disease Testing by Large Commercial Laboratories in the United States. Clin Infect Dis. 2014 Sep 1;59(5):676-81.
- Connally NP, Hinckley AF, Feldman KA, Kemperman MM, Neitzel D, Wee SB, White JL, Mead PS, Meek JI. Testing practices and volume of non-Lyme tickborne diseases in the United States. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2016 Feb;7(1):193-8.
- Page last reviewed: December 2, 2015
- Page last updated: July 10, 2017
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