Feeding Ticks on People: Ticks as a diagnostic tool
The persistence of bacteria or its components after antibiotic therapy is controversial. One method for detecting the presence of the organism is to use its natural vector, the Ixodes tick, to draw the bacteria out of tissues and into the tick. The tick can then be tested for the presence of the bacteria. This is called Xenodiagnosis.
Watch our study coordinators, Julie McCarthy and Cecily Freliech, describe xenodiagnosis and our study in patients with Lyme disease.
Recent Posts
Killing ticks with targeted viruses
One of the best ways to reduce the number of Lyme disease cases is using insecticides to kill ticks. Spraying loads and loads of insecticides around the countryside isn’t ideal though. What if there was a way to kill ticks without using a chemical spray? Quentin, one of the scientists and the Tufts Lyme Disease Initiative, tells us about a bright idea to use a virus that will selectively kill ticks.
The Hunt for Powassan Virus
Powassan virus is a deadly virus carried by Ixodes ticks. It has been identified in ticks in the Northeast. Currently, human Powassan virus infections in the United States are rare, but there is no treatment for the disease.
Watch as the team from Maine Medical Research Institute tracks the virus in the wild.