DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Variation in tick host preference and its epidemiological impact

论文研究：蜱宿主偏好的变化及其流行病学影响

• 批准号: 1311637
• 负责人: Lauren Meyers
• 金额: $ 1.86万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-06-01 至 2015-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1311637&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Variation; tick; host

Ticks feed on many different host species, including humans. While doing so, they can contract and spread infectious diseases but it remains unclear which hosts and which ticks drive the prevalence of tick-borne diseases. This research focuses on the bacterium, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, which is carried by the Lone Star tick and is known to cause disease in humans and to infect white-tailed deer. Lone Star ticks also feed on a variety of other species, including raccoons and Virginia opossums, whose role in E. chaffeensis outbreaks is unclear. The aim of this project is to advance our understanding of the multi-host transmission of E. chaffeensis, with a particular focus on how ticks choose their hosts. Using a combination of experiments on tick behavior, studies of tick genetic variation, and mathematical modeling of disease transmission, this project will identify how tick feeding preferences and the variety of host species contribute to the spread of E. chaffeensis. This work is relevant to public health and wildlife management, and may lead to the development of effective tick-borne disease prevention and control strategies. Some of the field work will be conducted on state- and federally-owned land, and the findings will be shared with the managers of these properties. Several undergraduate students will participate in the research, and will be trained in cutting-edge molecular laboratory techniques that will both enhance their studies and advance the goals of this project.

扁虱以许多不同的宿主物种为食，包括人类。在这样做的同时，它们可能会感染并传播传染病，但目前尚不清楚哪些宿主和哪些扁虱导致了壁虱传播疾病的流行。这项研究的重点是查菲埃利希菌，这种细菌由孤星虱携带，已知会导致人类疾病和感染白尾鹿。孤星虱还以其他各种物种为食，包括浣熊和弗吉尼亚负鼠，它们在查菲埃菲斯病毒爆发中的作用尚不清楚。这个项目的目的是促进我们对查菲棘球绦虫多宿主传播的理解，特别是对硬蜱如何选择宿主的了解。该项目结合了有关扁虱行为的实验、扁虱遗传变异的研究和疾病传播的数学模型，将确定扁虱的取食偏好和寄主物种的多样性如何促进查菲埃希虫的传播。这项工作与公共卫生和野生动物管理有关，并可能导致制定有效的壁虱传播疾病预防和控制战略。一些实地工作将在国有和联邦所有的土地上进行，调查结果将与这些房产的管理者分享。几名本科生将参与这项研究，并将接受尖端分子实验室技术方面的培训，这将加强他们的学习并推进该项目的目标。