New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases

在新英格兰，主要的媒介传播疾病（VBD）负担是由于蜱虫，蜱虫控制和 尽管新英格兰地区 和蜱虫有很长的渊源新英格兰仅占美国人口的4.5%， 美国莱姆病病例。该项目建议在媒介传播领域建立一个新英格兰卓越中心 疾病（NEWVEC）在防治蜱和其他节肢动物疾病方面取得重大进展， 新英格兰六个州通过对预防病媒方法的应用研究和技术评价， 减少蚊虫叮咬，抑制致病媒介，并促进公众采取媒介控制措施。维持 并扩大这一公共卫生的必要性，NEWVEC将培养学生进入公共卫生昆虫学 解决VBD的劳动力，并将通过实践社区与利益相关者接触， 研究和培训工作仍然具有相关性、有效性和影响力。NEWVEC战略有三个方面 组成部分：蜱虫抑制的应用研究，培训具有以下方面专门知识的公共卫生昆虫学家 病媒传播疾病和实践社区，以加强区域循证 方法.应用研究项目将遵循四个平行流：1）标准化和优化个人 用于商业和住宅用途的保护和控制产品及应用; 2）发现和 评估抑制蜱虫和防止蜱虫叮咬的新兴技术; 3）设计和测试栖息地， 以宿主为目标的干预措施，以抑制蜱虫种群;以及4）评估人为因素和公共卫生 控制蜱虫的方法。这些领域的工作将由六个新英格兰的研究人员进行 大学，由两个核心设施支持：用于病原体检测的分子分析实验室和分类栏- 编码在马萨诸塞州阿默斯特大学（UMA），蜱饲养和实验测试床在 罗得岛大学。一个多层次的培训计划，在公共卫生昆虫学的基础上，在UMA将 在本科和研究生阶段开发浓度和证书课程，以培养高度 为毕业生在胜任的领域就业，同时提供一系列高素质的专业人才 公共卫生专业人员和商业技术人员的发展培训经验 在新英格兰周围的应用程序公司。NEWVEC的实践社区将促进额外的学术 在其研究中进行合作，促进中心研究人员之间重要知识的双向传播， 它的学生和学员，公共卫生利益攸关方社区，以及其他关心病媒传播的 新英格兰的疾病预防。NEWVEC将集中研究最重要的新英格兰病媒， 最具挑战性的VBD进展障碍，以及最有希望和最有效的病媒控制干预措施， 方法.由于在技术上是可信的，NEWVEC将被VBD实践社区所依赖，因此 影响建议的采纳并促进可扩展性，以覆盖新英格兰地区的所有地区。

In New England, where the predominant vector-borne disease (VBD) burden is due to ticks, tick control and suppression practices can barely keep up with regional endemicity conditions, despite the fact that New England has a long history with ticks. With just 4.5% of the U.S. population, New England accounts for 20% of confirmed Lyme disease cases in the U.S. This project proposes a New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases (NEWVEC) to make significant progress in combatting ticks and other arthropod disease vectors in the six New England states through applied research and technical evaluation of methods to prevent vector bites, suppress disease-causing vectors, and promote public adoption of vector-control measures. To sustain and amplify this public health imperative, NEWVEC will train students to enter the public health entomology workforce to address VBD, and will engage stakeholders through a community of practice that can help its research and training efforts remain relevant, effective, and impactful. The NEWVEC strategy has three components: Applied research on tick suppression, Training of public health entomologists with expertise in vector-borne diseases, and Community of Practice to enhance regional effectiveness of evidence-based methods. Applied research projects will follow four parallel streams: 1) Standardizing and optimizing personal protection and control products and applications for commercial and residential use; 2) Discovering and evaluating emerging technologies to suppress ticks and prevent tick biting; 3) Designing and testing habitat and host-targeted interventions for suppressing tick populations; and 4) Assessing human factors and public health approaches for tick control. Work in these areas will be conducted by researchers at six New England universities, supported by two core facilities: a Molecular Analysis lab for pathogen testing and taxonomic bar- coding at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMA), and a Tick rearing and experimental test bed at the University of Rhode Island. A multi-tiered training program in Public Health Entomology based at UMA will develop concentrations and certificate programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels to train highly competent graduates for employment in the field, while providing a range of high-quality professional development training experiences for public health professional staff and technical employees of commercial applicator firms around New England. NEWVEC’s Community of Practice will promote extra-academic collaboration in its research, promoting two-way transmission of vital knowledge among the center’s researchers, its students and trainees, the public health stakeholder community, and others concerned with vector-borne disease prevention in New England. NEWVEC will concentrate on the most important New England vectors, most challenging barriers to VBD progress, and most promising and impactful vector control interventions and methods. By being technically credible, NEWVEC will be relied upon by the VBD practice community, thus influencing adoption of recommendations and promoting scalability to reach all areas in the New England region.