Source: CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION submitted to NRP
FIELD AND LABORATORY STUDIES OF ARTHROPODS HAVING PUBLIC HEALTH SIGNIFICANCE
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1017821
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Oct 2, 2018
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2021
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
PO BOX 1106
NEW HAVEN,CT 06504
Performing Department
Entomology
Non Technical Summary
The increasing prevalence of Lyme disease and emergence of other human tick-associated diseases in the United States has become a major public health concern. Western industrialized countries, including the United States, have also experienced a major resurgence of the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius. It is currently considered a serious building nuisance that feeds on humans. Ticks are nuisance pests, can cause severe toxic, allergic, reactions, and are vectors of numerous viruses, bacteria, protozoa that impact not only humans, but companion animals and domestic livestock. The lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.), is the most common human biting tick in the southeastern United States with roughly 90-95% or more of ticks either collected from vegetation or reported attached to humans. This tick is an aggressive nuisance and associated with at least six human diseases, primarily ehrlichiosis. Populations of lone star ticks have increased in recent years, starting to move up into New York and New England and a new established population has been discovered along coastal Connecticut. This research will evaluate the distribution and risk from emerging lone star tick populations and determine if an emerging population can be controlled with host targeted 4-poster feeding stations that topically apply pesticide to white-tailed deer. The new isoxazoline oral canine tick and flea control products will be examined for their efficacy in controlling ticks on wild rodent hosts. Control of bed bugs is primarily based on intensive application of a limited number of insecticides, mainly pyrethroids, and resistance to these materials is increasing. Other control methods need to be explored. Xenointoxication is a method by which a host is treated to kill a parasite. We will examine the efficacy of ivermectin against feeding bed bugs. Ivermectin, which is on the World Health Organization's list of essential medicines, is one of the most effective and safe medicines for parasites in current use.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
50%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
72231201130100%
Goals / Objectives
The increasing prevalence of Lyme disease and emergence of other human tick-associated diseases in the United States has become a major public health concern. Ticks are nuisance pests, can cause severe toxic, allergic, reactions, and are vectors of numerous viruses, bacteria, protozoa that impact not only humans, but companion animals and domestic livestock. There are over 20 recognized human diseases or clinical conditions associated with ticks in the United States. The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say, is the primary vector for at least seven pathogens that cause human disease. Since Lyme disease was first described in the 1970s, the number of reported human cases in the United States has steadily increased, largely due to the increased geographical range of the blacklegged tick and spread of B. burgdorferi. The actual incidence of human cases is estimated to be at least 10-fold over reported confirmed and suspected cases with »329,000 cases annually.While Lyme disease has been the impetus for recent research on tick ecology and management, the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.), is the most common human biting tick in the southeastern United States with roughly 90-95% or more of ticks either collected from vegetation or reported attached to humans. Previously considered primarily an aggressive nuisance, it is now associated with at least six human diseases. The diseases linked to A. americanum include ehrlichiosis, caused by Ehrlichia chaffeensis, E. ewingi, and the Panola Mountain Ehrlichia, southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI), red meat allergy, viral diseases caused by newly discovered Hartland virus and Bourbon virus, and likely tularemia and spotted fever rickettsiosis (Rickettsia rickettsii, possibly R. parkeri).Populations of lone star ticks have increased in recent years. Increased abundance, expansion, and human-biting activity of A. americanum has been linked to re-introduction, range expansion, and resurgent host populations, particularly white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann), eastern coyotes, Canis latrans (Say), and wild turkey, Meleagris gallopavo (L.). Along the Atlantic coast, its northern range extended to New Jersey, became established on the eastern end of Long Island and Fire Island, NY by the early 1990s, and possibly other parts of southern New York. The tick is either established or has been reported in 1,300 counties across 39 states, but based on the criteria used, reports along the northern range may or may not actually indicate an established reproducing population, but rather summer introductions. A population has long been abundant on Prudence Island, RI, and continues to be one of the most northern extensions of its established range. The tick is also becoming established on parts of Cape Cod, MA (Larry Dapsis, Extension Entomologist, Barnstable County, personal communication). The discovery of an established, reproducing population of lone star ticks on an island in Norwalk, CT in June 2017, the increasing submission of this tick by the public to the CAES Tick Testing Laboratory, and demonstrated overwinter survival of adult lone star ticks in Connecticut (KCS, unpublished data) have made the study and control of A. americanum increasingly relevant to Connecticut and New England. White-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann) are a major host for the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum L. The resurging population of deer in the twentieth century is linked to the emergence of multiple tick-borne pathogens associated with these and other tick species. White-tailed deer serve mainly as the host for the adult stage of these ticks, although immatures stages also feed on deer, and therefore, deer are a keystone species for the reproductive success and abundance of these ticks, similar to their role for the blacklegged tick. White-tailed deer are important reservoirs for E. chaffeensis and E. ewingii.A wide variety of prevention and control strategies have been used or investigated to reduce human exposure to ticks, reduce tick abundance, or the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in the tick vector. These include personal protection measures, habitat management, biological control (i.e., parasitoids and entomopathogenic fungi), host reduction or exclusion, host-targeted acaricides, host-targeted vaccines, and anti-tick vaccines. There are numerous reasons for the lack of success in prevention and control of ticks and tick-borne diseases. The ecology and human exposure risk for enzootic transmission of tick-borne pathogens is complex and still not fully understood. With few exceptions (e.g., substantial reduction or elimination of white-tailed deer on geographically isolated areas and possibly the acaricidal treatment of deer), single intervention strategies are limited in duration or efficacy and often cannot address different vector life cycles, reservoir hosts, and human behavior and the area-wide application of synthetic chemical acaricides is becoming less acceptable. Host-targeted acaricides help address some of the environmental concerns from broadcast applications and is a proven approach suitable for the control of I. scapularis and A. americanum. Host-targeted acaricides intended for deer have achieved varying degrees of control. Dogs are also susceptible many of the same tick-borne diseases as humans. Canine Lyme disease vaccines are available and many products have been developed for canine flea and tick control, of which some like the isoxazolines, a new class of systemic oral ecto-parasiticides, may have other potential tick control applications.Starting in the late 1990's, western industrialized countries, including the United States, experienced a major resurgence of the highly reclusive human feeding Cimicid, the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. henceforth referred to as "bed bug(s)". It is currently considered a serious building nuisance that feeds on humans. It is not a known vector for human or other disease causing pathogens, but this blood-feeding insect is still considered a public health neusance, because of the psychological stress it causes. Social stigma, ignorance, reactive rather than proactive behaviors by the public, and lack of cooperation provide a cultural environment in which bed bugs thrive. Current distribution data is saturated. Except for a few isolated regions in the world, the insect is now ubiquitous. The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) Insect Inquiry Office has also seen a thousand-fold increase in bed bug inquiries since 1996. In 2017, they represented over 36% (n = 3,603) of the identifications performed by the office. High density housing with disproportionately high minority, elderly, handicapped, and disadvantaged populations experienced the most severe problems with bed bugs, because of the lack of resources. Wealthy demographics with resources quickly manage infestations and inhibit reporting. There can be exceptions, especially when architectural design favors insect harborage. In a number of private New England schools and higher education institutions with buildings that replicate old architectural styles such as Tudor and Cotswold, they contend with persistent bed bug infestations. This is due to elevated cracks, fissures, and imperfections in the design of the building interiors which the insects use.Objectives:To monitor new insular, emergent lone star tick, A. americanum, population in Connecticut and evaluate the 4-poster for the control of this tick.To determine if isoxazoline canine oral flea and tick control compounds can control I. scapularis on laboratory and wild mice for potential tick control for rodent reservoir hosts.To evaluate the efficacy of xenointoxication against bed bugs.
Project Methods
Objective 1. Collection of host-seeking ticks will be conducted by sweeping or dragging the vegetation with a cloth to generate quantitative estimates of tick population density and the use of CO2 traps, which are effective for A. americanum (but not I. scapularis). Tick sampling will be performed monthly through the nymph and adult seasons (early spring through early autumn). Collected ticks will be preserved in 80% ethanol and identified to species morphologically. Tick density per unit area (100 m2) will be estimated by dragging measured transects and the CO2 traps will provide a separate relative measure of tick numbers. A CO2 trap consists of a reservoir containing sublimating dry ice surrounded by tape to trap attracted ticks. The '4-Poster' passive topical treatment station or device (C.R. Daniels, Inc.) developed by the USDA consists of a central reservoir to hold whole kernel corn. A feeding trough at each end has two vertical paint rollers each, which are manually treated with the acaricide permethrin (10%) (Y-Tex '4-Poster' Tickicide, Cody, WY). Deer rub up against the rollers as they feed. Based on the experience with the plastic commercial version of the '4-Poster' in other studies, the deployment recommendation for the '4-Poster' is one station every 50 acres. Four '4-Posters' will be placed on the property (but up to 6 depending on usage) April or May through September, targeting all life-stages of A. americanum on white-tailed deer through the active tick season. We propose installing the '4-Posters' in Years 1-2 (2019, 2020, and 2021) of the study (already deployed in 2018) with the need for continued treatment determined after the third year of treatment based on tick population assessments in 2021. Devices will be maintained and serviced with acaricide (permethrin) and corn approximately weekly, depending on usage, per label directions. Objective 2. The experiment will be carried out initially with C3H/HeJ mice for proof of concept, and then conducted with P. leucopus mice in subsequent trials. Afoloxoner will be evaluated first, followed by fluralaner and sarolaner, depending on availability. For example, mice will be dosed at 4.4 mg/kg, the middle range of afoloxoner's dose per the drug's monograph. Mice are weighed prior to dosing, and the dosage is based on the mean weight of the mice. Mice will be administered afoloxoner or other isoxazolines orally by mixing ground tablets with peanut butter. This mixture is prepared on day of administration, and given ad libitum to mice in otherwise empty, individual cages so that they could be monitored to ensure ingestion. The day following drug administration, twenty I. scapularis nymphs are applied to the treated mice (n = 3 per rep) and control mice (n= 3 per rep). The mice were then placed in cages with open bottoms over water baths. The number of ticks that fell off immediately due to poor attachment and number of engorged ticks were tracked. The number of living engorged ticks was recorded over the following five days, until ticks ceased to fall from the mice. This entire process will be repeated at 12-14 days and 30 days post-initial drug administration in P. leucopus mice. Objective 3. A New Zealand White male rabbit weighing ~4.54 kg (10.00lb) will be subcutaneously injected using a small gauge needle into the left shoulder by our veterinarian as a single dose treatment before each of two tests. Ivermectin (1% sterile solution) (Noromectin®,Norbrook Laboratories, UK) will be the product used . For bed bug feedings, the rabbit has been trained to sit quietly on a handlers lap while the insects feed on his shaved left hip. Cimex lectularius L. specimens that will be used are descended from insects first collected in a New Haven, Connecticut apartment in 2009. For the tests, twelve populations of 10 males, 10 females, and 10 mixed instar nymphs will be placed into 55 x 25 mm (4 dram) glass vials containing a single piece of 10 x 40 mm card for perching. To keep stress low, vials will be populated with 30 fully sated insects seven days prior to each test and left undisturbed. During this period, populations will be monitored for health, formation of natural aggregation clusters called "refuges," and hunger onset. A 60 x 60mm square of sheer fabric will be secured over the vial mouth with an elastic band. When inverted, the card will slide to the vial mouth, allowing insects to feed through the fabric. When in confined space, C. lectularius specimens often jostle and compete for blood while some do not feed and others delay. Forty five minutes was found to be ample time to accommodate for these behaviors. Controls will be fed prior to injection of the rabbit at the beginning of each test.Sequential post-injection insect feedings in the two planned tests will be: Control (0), the injection, then 1, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, and 168 hour feedings respectively. Test 1 will look for efficacy of ivermectin against C. lectularius for a duration of 45 days. The second test will include a breath test at day 14 to look for response to feeding cues, followed by two feedings at days 16 and 31. Observation duration will be 64 days. During Test 2, 0.5 mL of blood will be drawn from the rabbit's marginal ear vein by our veterinarian at 0, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 72 hours. The blood will be immediately centrifuged at low speed, frozen to -52°C and shipped on dry ice to Case Western Reserve University Proteomics Core facility, Cleveland, Ohio for testing. Each blood sample will then be mixed with 500 microliters of 3:1 v/v methanol:acetonitrile, then vortexed for 20 seconds, and incubated at 4°C for 30 minutes. The solution will be centrifuged at 16,000g for 20 minutes. 500 microliters of supernatant produced will be transferred to a clean tube and speedvac'd to dryness. It will then reconstituted with 50 microliters of reconstitute solvent (0.5 mm ammonium formate, 0.1% formic acid in 50% methanol) and centrifuged at 16,000g for 20 minutes. Five microliters will then be used for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry (MS). A Thermo Scientific TSQ Quantum Ultra with HESI-II probe will be used, using ESI positive ionization mode, spray voltage of 3000V, capillary temperature of 200°C, vaporizer temperature of 300, sheath gas pressure of 40, Aux gas pressure 10, skimmer offset 10 V, SRM set up: Q1: 0.7 FWHM; Q3: 0.7 FWHM; Q2: 1.5 mTorr (Ar); scan width: 0.002 m/z, scan time at 0.02s for analysis of the reconstituted supernatant. Statistical data will be recorded as a numerical health rating system, tracking impact to the insects. The numerical interpretation of health will be (4) healthy - alert and active; (3) reactive - cognizant to stimuli without response; (2) immobile - not cognizant and lying on back with partial limb paralysis; (1) paralysis - not cognizant, on back with slight muscle twitch, and slow gut pulse; (0) dead or torpid. Chi-square analyses will be performed to examine morbidity and mortality efficacy of ivermectin against C. lectularius populations. Each time treated cohort will be compared to controls. There will be two sets of data. The first will be morbidity of each time treated cohort e. g. 1h, 6h, 12h etc. as "sick or healthy" compared to controls and the second, mortality, "dead or alive" compared to controls. The analysis takes into account the impact of Ivermectin against all stages of C. lectularius identifying peak efficacy periods of ivermectin against treated specimens in both experiments. Non-lethal effects will also be recorded.

Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:A broad base of stakeholders will benefit from new scientific findings. Physicians, veterinarians, and public health officials will learn if the lone star tick and Ehrlichia chaffeensis is an emerging tick and human pathogen in Connecticut and if emerging populations can be controlled. Knowledge of the distribution of lone star ticks, the risk for new tick-borne disease associated with this tick, and the efficacy of controlfor emerging foci will be gained. Pest Management Professionals will learn about ticks and bed bugs and potential new methods of control such as efficacy of host-targeted methods and designing bed bug resistant furniture that might be used in institutions like senior citizen residences and nursing homes. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Despite the impact of Covid-19 restrictions, presentations or participations in meetings withpublic and professional groups during the reporting period were conducted using the Zoom or similar platforms. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The 4-poster treatment of white-tailed deer for control of Amblyomma americanum has been completed. The evaluation ofisoxazolines for control of Ixodes scapularis and evaluation of design components for bed bug resistant furniture should be completed.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? For objective 1, we documented the effectiveness of topical treatment of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann) with 10% permethrin delivered via 4-poster devices in the management of a newly discovered lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, infestation on Manresa Island, Norwalk, Connecticut. Using 4 devices, a high-density deployment of one device/12.7 ha, we were successful in significantly reducing densities of host-seeking adults (93% reduction), nymphs (92% reduction), and larvae (96% reduction) from 2018 to 2020. We also documented a significant reduction (87%) in parasitizing adult and nymphal burdens on white-tailed deer from 2018 to 2019 and a reduction in the prevalence of infection with Ehrlichia species in adult ticks. The standard recommendation for deployment of the 4-poster is minimally one device/16 ha to as much as one device per 50 ha. However, 4-poster device deployment density needs to account for overall deer density in order to effectively treat a significant portion of the population. Deployment of host-targeted methods, particularly for white-tailed deer, should be host density rather than land area based. The study has been submitted for publication. For objective 2, evaluation of the isoxazoline compounds for the control of I. scapularis nymphs feeding on white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus, the major reservoir host for the Lyme disease bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi were nearly completed. The isoxazolines (afloxolaner [NexgardÒ], fluralaner [BravectoÒ], sarolaner [SimparicaÒ, and lotilaner [CredelioÒ]), are a relatively new class of antiparasiticides, roughly monthly chewable systemic medications for dogs that offer the ease of a single oral dose to control ticks and other ectoparasites. They are provided in various dosage sizes for dogs and puppies according to their weight. Dosages for the mice were calculated on a wt/wt basis based on label use with the canine products for project screenings. After initial trials with afloxolaner, the study was expanded to include all the isoxazoline products. We found that all products at the standard canine dose provided 100% control of I. scapularis nymphs on P. leucopus at 24 hours posttreatment, but, no difference in nymphal engorgement between the control and treated mice was observed at 14 days posttreatment, likely due to a higher metabolism in the mice. Unlike the other isoxazolines, fluralaner is a two-month oral canine medication. With fluralaner, there was a significant difference between the treatment and control group at the initial time point (P = 0.0101; P = 0.00506 one-tail t-test), similar to afloxolaner and the other isoxazolines. While there was no significant difference between the treatment and control at the 14 day or 30 day time points in an initial trial, fluralaner was ca. 70-78% effective at 14 days posttreatment in follow-up trials. Final trial replicates and full analysis will be completed and submitted for publication in 2021. For Objective 3, we assessed the efficacy of ivermectin for the control of the human bed bug, Cimex lectularius, by xenointoxication in 2018 and 2019. The trials were completed and published. In summary, a rabbit was injected with 0.3 mg/kg of ivermectin feeding bed bugs in a series of 12 timed feedings from 0 to 168 hours post injection in two test runs. Adult C. lectularius showed the highest mortality when fed between 6-48 hours post-ivermectin injection of rabbit. Nymph C. lectularius showed the highest mortality when fed between 12-72 hours post-ivermectin injection. The insects were also categorized as reactive, immobile, and paralysis (i.e., detrimental effects or "harm"). Overall, bed bugs that fed after 6 hours post-ivermectin injection had significantly more harm than controls (p < 0.05). Peak bed bug harm occurred in the groups fed 36-96 hours post-ivermectin injection where there was significantly more harm than controls (p < 0.05). Ivermectin caused insect paralysis in a dose-dependent manner. In a second test, bed bugs were offered blood meals at 16 and 31 days after feeding on the tainted rabbit blood. Controls, 1 and 6-hour post-injection cohorts fed normally. In some bed bugs, especially those fed 36-72 hours' post-injection had difficulty re-feeding and showed behaviors indicative of distress, which led to repeated efforts to feed. In the 36 hour post-injection cohort, 15% of the insects attempted to feed and failed; the 48 hour cohort saw no feeding; the 72 hour cohort tried to feed but could not; the 96 hour cohort were mostly non-responsive and sessile, although a few bed bugs tried to feed and failed; and the 120 hour adult cohort did not feed and 20% of nymphs tried to feed but failed; the 144 hour cohort had some nymphs interested in feeding; and the 168 hour cohort initially exhibited disinterest but later all insects fed normally. Ivermectin did not affect late stage pre-formed eggs in female ovarioles, which were laid, and hatched into 1st instar nymphs. However, females exposed to sub-lethal ivermectin doses were often made infertile if oocytes were being formed in the germarium at the time of feeding. Eggs either never developed or were laid without yolk. The few first instar nymphs engendered by sub-lethal ivermectin treated females that successfully hatched did not appear to be grossly affected and developed into adults. Ivermectin had a dramatic decrease in the number of eggs that were laid and the resulting new instars. The effect was apparent in both test trials and was most significant between hours 6-144 post-ivermectin injection. Nymphal molting was significantly reduced for bed bugs that fed between 6-168 hours' post-injection. High performance liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy tests done on blood drawn from the rabbit between 1 and 72 hours post injection showed 0, 2.1, 8.3, 10.4, 12.4, and 18.3 ng/mL. The peak plasma concentrated in the rabbit occurred around 72 hours' post-injection. This was also seen in observations of gut cultures harvested from treated bed bugs where there was complete die-off of gut endosymbionts between 1 and 36 hours post injection. This work has the potential of providing an alternative method of bed bug management in support of more traditional techniques of control. It might be useful in challenging physical situations in buildings such as hoarding or downsizing by seniors where there is an increase in density of artifacts offering the insect enhanced protection and so impeding chemical treatment. With xenointoxication work completed, bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., research this past year focused on evaluating furniture components designed to be bed bug resistant. By designing furniture which is always a source for bed bug harborage and protection to be bed bug resistant, it will deprive the insects of the opportunity to establish refuges (aggregations) where they can reproduce and develop. Specimens used in this study were from a colony descended from insects first collected in a New Haven, Connecticut in 2009. Newly molted, well fed, clean specimens in prime condition were used in the trials. Various furniture components were shipped from Sauder manufacturing based in Ohio for testing against bed bugs. These components were evaluated for resistance to clinging and ambulation across surfaces by the insects, as well as harborage resistance. Some materials and designs were superior to others and potentially could be used for bed bug resistant furniture. Evaluations are ongoing.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Megan A. Linske, Kirby C. Stafford III, Scott C. Williams, Charles B. Lubelczyk, Margret Welch, and Elizabeth F. Henderson. 2019. Impacts of deciduous leaf litter and snow presence on nymphal Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) overwintering survival in coastal New England, USA. J. Insects. 10, 227; doi: 10.3390/insects10080227.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Molaei, Goudarz, Eliza A.H. Little, Scott C. Williams, and Kirby C. Stafford III. 2019. Bracing for the Worst: Will the rise of the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, alter the northeastern tick-borne disease landscape? N. Eng. J. Med. 381;23: 2189-2192 (December 5, 2019)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Stafford III, Kirby C., Goudarz Molaei, Eliza A. H. Little, Christopher D. Paddock, Sandor E. Karpathy, and Andrew Labonte. 2018. Distribution and Establishment of the Lone Star Tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.), in Connecticut. Journal of Medical Entomology. 55(6): 1561-1568.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Xenointoxication of a Rabbit for the Control of the Common Bed Bug Cimes lectularius L. Using Ivermectin 2019. G. E. Ridge, Elmer W., Gaines W., Li X. Schlatzer D., McClure-Brinton K., and Sheele J. M. Scientifica Vol. 2019, Article ID 4793569
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Willliams, Scott C., Megan A. Linske, and Kirby C. Stafford III. 2020. Humane Use of Cardiac Puncture for Non-terminal Phlebotomy of Wild-caught and Released Peromyscus leucopus and P. maniculatus. Animals. 10,826; doi:10.3390/ani10050826
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Stafford III, Kirby C., Gale E. Ridge, Gourdarz Molaei, Christine Zarb, and Paula Bevilacqua. 2020. Rabbit Bot Fly Furuncular, Tracheopulmonary, and Human Bot Fly Infestations in Connecticut (Oestridae: Cuterebrinae). [ePub ahead of print], https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaa181
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Eisen, Lars and Kirby C. Stafford III. 2020. Barriers to effective tick management and tick bite prevention in the United States [Forum]. J. Med. Entomol. tjaa079, https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaa079, [Epub ahead of print 6 May 2020]
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Management of a newly discovered, established population of the Ehrlichia spp. vector Amblyomma americanum using 4-poster devices in coastal Connecticut, USA


Progress 10/02/18 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences are wildlife biologists; physicians; veterinarians; microbiologists; epidemiologists; federal, state, and local health officials; persons suffering from Lyme disease, granulocytic anaplasmosis, or babesiosis; pest management personnel; property owners who have bed bug infestations; and the general public. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?DR. KIRBY C. STAFFORD III, in this initial reporting period, was a regular participant in a the tick IPM working group, and presented a talk at the Joint Annual Entomology Society of America, Entomology Society of Canada, and Entomology Society of British Columbia, in Vancouver, BC and a Tick IPM webinar for the Northeast Region Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases (NEVBD). DR. GALE E. RIDGE presented a talk on Delusions of Parasitosis, its relationship with bed bugs at the Joint Annual Entomology Society of America, Entomology Society of Canada, and Entomology Society of British Columbia, held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The research on bed bugs, ongoing studies lone star ticks in Connecticut, tick control, and the submitting completed work for publication will be the focus of the new Hatch proposal of field and laboratory studies of arthropods of public health significance. A manuscript on lone star ticks was prepared and submitted in this last reporting period. A publication on the increasing presence of the lone star tick in Connecticut was submitted in 2018 and published in November 2018. A manuscript on the RTV study is still currently in progress for publication in 2018 (draft finished in January 2019 with some additional analysis) and a completed manuscript on the overwintering of I. scapularis will be submitted for publication in January 2019. Additional studies on the oral rodent Lyme vaccine were initiated in 2018 with the collection of baseline data and use of Rhodamine-B and are currently being analyzed.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Issue: The paucity of cost-efficient strategies to limit tick-borne pathogen exposures is becoming increasingly problematic for public health in the Northeast as incidence rates of tick-borne diseases continue to rise and new tick-borne pathogens emerge. For example, the blacklegged tick and lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, are expanding their geographic range and exposing more people to an increasing diversity of tick-borne pathogens and diseases. An increasing number of lone star ticks are being submitted to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Tick Testing Laboratory. The United States has experienced a major resurgence of the human feeding common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. It is currently considered a serious house hold nuisance. Many bed bug populations are resistant to pyrethroid insecticides and alternative materials or approaches are needed. Response: Studies on the overwintering of nymphal Ixodes scapularis were begun in fall 2015. Ticks were placed in tubes within the buried tick pots over the winter with Hobo dataloggers in a complete randomized block design with two factors (i.e., combinations of snow removal and leaf litter removal) to examine habitat characteristics on survival and their role in landscape management practices. These were 1) no leaf or snow removal, 2) leaf removal-no snow removal, 3) no leaf removal, snow removal, and 4) both leaf and snow removal. Adult lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum) were added for the winter of 2016-2017. These resutls were reported for the previous Hatch project. The results for the three years of data for I. scapularis have been analyzed and written up for submission for publication. The overwintering study for A. americanum was continued for a third year for the winter of 2018-2019. An established, reproducing population of the lone star tick was detected on Manresa Island (peninsula) along southwestern coastal Connecticut in 2017. A control study using passive deer-feeding stations called 4-posters was intiated in summer 2018. In cooperation with the Wildlife Division of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, many of the white-tailed deer on Manresa Island were tagged and outfitted with radio collars.

Publications