Collaborative Research: Testing Alternative Hypotheses for Gradients in Lyme Disease in the Eastern U.S.: Climate, Host Community and Vector Genetic Structure

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Lyme disease (LD) is the most common vector-borne disease in the U.S., with most cases acquired from blacklegged ticks. These ticks are found throughout the eastern U.S., yet 93% of LD cases occur in ten states found in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. Various explanations have been proposed for the puzzling absence of LD in some areas where blacklegged ticks occur, but no agreement has been reached. The absence of an explanation contributes to uncertainty and confusion felt by citizens and healthcare providers faced with expanding tick populations in many parts of the U.S. The research team represents five universities as well as national and international governmental agencies. They have a strong commitment to disseminating research findings to scientists, public health agencies, land managers, and the public. They will test three key hypotheses concerning LD distribution using field, laboratory, and computer modeling studies. Data on tick-host relationships, tick seasonal biology, and tick genetics will be collected from field sites in four widely-separated regions of the eastern U.S. Application of modeling and molecular tools will reveal the ecological and evolutionary processes responsible for the variation in LD risk in different regions of the U.S., as well as help predict how climate change could alter this risk. Furthermore, this improved understanding of factors determining the distribution and abundance of infected ticks will assist in human disease diagnosis and treatment, tick control measures, and public education on regional differences in the risk of LD and other tick-borne disease.