![]() This vaccine works by affecting the saliva of the tick whenever it bites a vaccinated animal, and it is similar to the treatment given to pets to remove fleas and ticks. Animals are vaccinated against ticks by eating the pellets.Ĭhinnisi said that these bait stations will not attract additional rats to the areas tested. These stations are below ground and have an entrance at the bottom, meaning only small mammals will be able to enter. Sites that did not receive the vaccine would serve as a control group to compare the affected areas.įood pellets kept in feed stations shall be pre-vaccinated. “No mammals will be hurt in the process,” Chinnini said.Īfter the completion of three days, the researches will deploy the vaccine at some sites. After that, the researchers would set up small mammal nets that would hold blood samples from the captured animals, collect all their ticks and tag them before releasing them back into the wild. Researchers will conduct a three-day study at each site every 12 weeks, beginning with a drag of corduroy cloth to pick up ticks and learn how dense the insect population is at that site. Pymatuning State Park, Roche Park, Ball Field in Connaught Lake and the area around the college are some of the Crawford County locations that will be studied, while Mercer County locations include Buhl Park in the Hermitage, Lake Latonka and Maurice K. The sites will include four school ground properties, four community and/or state park locations, and four residential properties. The study will take place in Crawford, Mercer, Bucks, Leigh, Monroe and Pike counties.Ĭhinnisi said small mammals transmit most tick-borne diseases to tick populations, hence why they are the focus of the study.Ī total of 12 sites in each county will be examined as part of the study. The detailed study, by Nicole Chinnici, director of the Pennsylvania Tick Research Lab, will revolve around the vaccination of small mammals, primarily white-footed rats, and its effectiveness in reducing tick populations. ![]() Michelle Brooks, R-50, speaks at a news conference on a tick mitigation study at Allegheny College in Jamestown, Tuesday. “Untreated or treated incorrectly, it leads to neurological damage, as well as mobility issues and other serious health problems.”īrooks called the study a way for the state to be more “aggressive” in combating its tic problems. “Pennsylvania is the number one state for Lyme disease, and the top demographic it’s affecting are children,” she said. Brooks, whose 50th district includes Crawford County, described the tick’s situation in Pennsylvania as a “crisis.” Michelle Brooks, R-50, Jamestown, who funded the study by $1 million through the state budget. The conference was attended by state Sen. The laboratory is located at East Stroudsburg University in Monroe County, in the eastern part of the state. The college is partnering with the Pennsylvania Tick Research Lab, the largest tick lab in the state. ![]() ![]() The study was announced Tuesday during a news conference at Allegheny College. MEADVILLE – Crawford and Mercer are among six counties to be investigated as part of the first-of-its-kind tick mitigation study in Pennsylvania.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |