{"id":65559,"date":"2007-06-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2007-06-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/tick-abundance-running-below-average-in-rhode-island\/"},"modified":"2007-06-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2007-06-21T00:00:00","slug":"tick-abundance-running-below-average-in-rhode-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2007\/06\/tick-abundance-running-below-average-in-rhode-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Tick abundance running below average in Rhode Island"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t溏心vlog免费B站 researcher: , but Lyme disease risk still high<\/p>\n


\n\tKINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 June 21, 2007 \u2013 Deer tick abundance in Rhode Island is running 22 percent lower this year compared to this same time last year, according to preliminary results from 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s statewide Tick Encounter Risk Survey. So far, the first of two planned samples have been collected at 40 of 61 sites distributed around the state.<\/p>\n


\n\tDeer ticks transmit Lyme disease, babesiosis and anaplasmosis.<\/p>\n


\n\tThomas Mather, professor of entomology and director of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Center for Vector Borne Disease, said that the survey of tick populations is finding that 60 percent of the sites surveyed have fewer ticks than last year.

\n\t\u201cThe remaining sites have found more ticks than last year, but in most cases there were only marginally more,\u201d Mather explained. \u201cHowever, at sites in Jamestown, Burrillville and Johnston we found significantly more ticks than previously.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cThe lower tick numbers this year could be due to low humidity levels that we experienced in early June. Ticks tend to be more abundant in moist conditions. This year\u2019s decline could also simply be attributed to the interannual fluctuations that we have observed over the last 15 years. Last year\u2019s numbers were quite high, so we somewhat expected lower numbers this year.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tDespite a decline in tick abundance, Rhode Islanders still face a high risk of contracting Lyme disease when compared to other states. <\/p>\n

<\/a>\u201cOur research findings estimate that more than 717,000 Rhode Islanders are at potential risk for encountering a deer tick where they live,\u201d said Mather, whose tick surveillance program has resulted in the world\u2019s most comprehensive database on changes in the distribution and abundance of deer ticks. \u201cTwenty years ago, the state\u2019s residents were largely free from this risk, unless they traveled to Prudence Island or Block Island.\u201d In 1993 when the survey first started, only 275,000 state residents risked encountering a deer tick where they lived.<\/p>\n


\n\tMather and his research and outreach team launched the nation\u2019s first tick bite prevention website \u2013 www.tickencounter.org<\/a> — last year to provide residents and visitors with detailed information about tick biology, strategies for controlling ticks, health tips, and other information useful to anyone going outside in areas where ticks are abundant.<\/p>\n


\n\tWith the school year just ending, people will likely be spending more and more time outside. So, even though tick abundance is lower than last year, Mather recommends that all Rhode Islanders continue to take precautions to prevent contracting Lyme disease by routinely practicing personal protective measures and implementing tick control strategies around the yard. He recommends:<\/p>\n


\n– checking thoroughly every day for ticks;<\/p>\n


\n– using a sharp tick removal tweezer to safely remove attached ticks;<\/p>\n


\n– treating clothing with a repellent containing Permethrin and wearing the treated clothing whenever going in areas where ticks may lurk; <\/p>\n


\n– keeping the edge of the yard clear of leaf litter because that\u2019s where people\u2019s exposure to ticks is most likely to occur; and<\/p>\n


\n– hiring a trained professional pest controller or arborist to apply an appropriate tick treatment around the yard.<\/p>\n


\n\tAdult deer ticks must be attached for 48 hours to transmit the Lyme disease pathogen, while nymphs, which are tiny and difficult to see, need only be attached for 24 hours to transmit a Lyme infection. It is the tiny nymphal stage that is active now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

溏心vlog免费B站 researcher: , but Lyme disease risk still high KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 June 21, 2007 \u2013 Deer tick abundance in Rhode Island is running 22 percent lower this year compared to this same time last year, according to preliminary results from 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s statewide Tick Encounter Risk Survey. So far, the first of two planned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}