Designing an Intervention Trial of Human-Tick Encounters and Tick-Borne Diseases in Residential Settings Using 4-Poster Devices to Control Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae): Challenges for Site Selection and Device Placement

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Med Entomol
• Personal Author:
  Connally, Neeta P. ; Rowe, Adam ; Kaufman, Alison ; Meek, James I. ; Niesobecki, Sara A. ; Hansen, Amberjean P. ; White, Jennifer ; Nawrocki, Courtney ; Foster, Erik ; Hinckley, Alison F. ; Eisen, Lars
• Description:
  Blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis Say, transmit Lyme disease spirochetes and other human pathogens in the eastern United States. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are key reproductive hosts for I. scapularis adults, and therefore control methods targeting deer have the potential for landscape-wide tick suppression. A topical acaricide product, containing 10% permethrin, is self-applied by deer to kill parasitizing ticks when they visit 4-Poster Tick Control Deer Feeders (hereafter, 4-Posters) Previous 4-Poster intervention studies, including in residential settings, demonstrated suppression of I. scapularis populations but did not include human-based outcomes. To prepare for a proposed 4-Poster intervention trial in residential areas of Connecticut and New York that would include human-tick encounters and tick-borne diseases as outcomes, we sought to identify areas (study clusters) in the 80-100 ha size range and specific locations within these areas where 4-Poster devices could be deployed at adequate density (1 device per 20-25 ha) and in accordance with regulatory requirements. Geographic Information System-based data were used to identify prospective study clusters, based on minimum thresholds for Lyme disease incidence, population density, and forest cover. Ground truthing of potential 4-Poster placement locations was done to confirm the suitability of selected clusters. Based on these efforts, we failed to identify more than a few residential areas fulfilling all criteria for a treatment cluster. We, therefore, reconsidered pursuing the intervention trial, which required inclusion of >30 treatment clusters to achieve adequate statistical power. The 4-Poster methodology may be more readily evaluated in natural or public areas than in residential settings in NY or CT.
• Keywords:
  4-Poster Device Animals Deer Humans Ixodes Ixodes Scapularis Ixodidae Lyme Disease Prospective Studies Tick Infestations Topical Acaricide White-tailed Deer

  More +
• Source:
  J Med Entomol. 59(3):911-921
• Pubmed ID:
  35294011
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC10903785
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/ ; U50CK000486/CC/CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  59
• Issue:
  3
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:19e27cde940dfc7876ea9126078d88ae3a8af1465dc7de61a65c2b463d05039d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/150385/cdc_150385_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.34 MB ]