Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39574137›Full record

ArticleParasites & vectors2024

Spatial and temporal distribution of Ixodes scapularis and tick-borne pathogens across the northeastern United States.

Lucas E Price, Jonathan M Winter, Jamie L Cantoni, Duncan W Cozens, Megan A Linske, Scott C Williams, Griffin M Dill, Allison M Gardner, Susan P Elias, Thomas F Rounsville and 9 more

Erratum issuedAbstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Parasites & vectors, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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  5. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Lucas E PriceDepartment of Geography, Dartmouth College, 6017 Fairchild, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA. Lucas.E.Price@Dartmouth.edu.
Jonathan M WinterDepartment of Geography, Dartmouth College, 6017 Fairchild, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1261-4774
Jamie L Cantoni *Department of Entomology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, 123 Huntington Street, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2059-5875
Duncan W Cozens *Department of Entomology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, 123 Huntington Street, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
Megan A Linske *Department of Entomology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, 123 Huntington Street, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
Scott C Williams *Department of Environmental Science and Forestry, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, 123 Huntington Street, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3751-7703
Griffin M Dill *Diagnostic and Research Laboratory, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, 17 Godfrey Drive, Orono, ME, 04473, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4445-2969
Allison M Gardner *School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, 5722 Deering Hall, Orono, ME, 04469, USA.
Susan P Elias *Vector-borne Disease Laboratory, MaineHealth Institute for Research, 81 Research Drive, Scarborough, ME, 04074, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8103-6579
Thomas F RounsvilleDiagnostic and Research Laboratory, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, 17 Godfrey Drive, Orono, ME, 04473, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5279-5074
Robert P SmithVector-borne Disease Laboratory, MaineHealth Institute for Research, 81 Research Drive, Scarborough, ME, 04074, USA.
Michael W Palace *Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Morse Hall, Durham, NH, 03824, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3505-2906
Christina Herrick *Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Morse Hall, Durham, NH, 03824, USA.
Melissa A Prusinski *Vector Ecology Laboratory, Bureau of Communicable Disease Control, New York State Department of Health, Biggs Laboratory C-456-C-470A, Wadsworth Center, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY, 12237, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6538-623X
Patti Casey *Environmental Surveillance Program, Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets, 116 State Street, Montpelier, VT, 05620, USA.
Eliza M Doncaster *Environmental Surveillance Program, Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets, 116 State Street, Montpelier, VT, 05620, USA.
Joseph D T SavageDepartment of Geography, Dartmouth College, 6017 Fairchild, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8284-908X
Dorothy I WallaceDepartment of Mathematics, Dartmouth College, 6188 Kemeny Hall, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.
Xun ShiDepartment of Geography, Dartmouth College, 6017 Fairchild, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7169-5175

Funding

Phylogeographic dynamics of tick-borne pathogensR01AI142572 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · PI BRISSON, DUSTIN · 2018 to 2023
$2.4M
Phylogeographic dynamics of a vector and pathogen in a natural environmentR01AI097137 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · PI BRISSON, DUSTIN · 2012 to 2016
$1.9M
CDC HHS U01CK000509Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station ME032025NASA NNX07AT69ANational Science Foundation OIA 2019609NCEZID CDC HHS U01 CK000509New York State Department of Health AI097137NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI097137NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI142572NIH HHS AI142572
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe incidence of tick-borne diseases is increasing across the USA, with cases concentrated in the northeastern and midwestern regions of the country. Ixodes scapularis is one of the most important tick-borne disease vectors and has spread throughout the northeastern USA over the past four decades, with established populations in all states of the region.

methodsTo better understand the rapid expansion of I. scapularis and the pathogens they transmit, we aggregated and analyzed I. scapularis abundance and pathogen prevalence data from across the northeastern USA, including the states of Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont, from 1989 to 2021. Maine was the only state to collect data during the entire time period, with the other states collecting data during a subset of this time period starting in 2008 or later. We harmonized I. scapularis abundance by county and tick season, where the nymph season is defined as May to September and the adult season is October to December, and calculated I. scapularis pathogen infection prevalence as the percentage of ticks that tested positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia microti, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Borrelia miyamotoi. We then explored temporal trends in I. scapularis abundance and pathogen prevalence data using linear models.

resultsThe resulting dataset is one of the most spatially and temporally comprehensive records of tick abundance and pathogen prevalence in the USA. Using linear models, we found small or insignificant changes in the abundance of nymphs and adults over time; however, A. phagocytophilum, B. microti and B. burgdorferi prevalence in both nymphs and adults has increased over time. For the period 2017-2021, the statewide average prevalence of B. burgdorferi ranged from 19% to 25% in I. scapularis nymphs and from to 49% to 54% in I. scapularis adults. The statewide average prevalence of all other pathogens in I. scapularis for 2017-2021, including A. phagocytophilum (4-6% for nymphs, 4-9% for adults), B. microti (4-8% for nymphs, 2-13% for adults) and B. miyamotoi (1-2% for nymphs, 1-2% for adults), was considerably less.

conclusionsOur efforts revealed the complications of creating a comprehensive dataset of tick abundance and pathogen prevalence across time and space due to variations in tick collection and pathogen testing methods. Although tick abundance has not changed along the more southern latitudes in our study over this time period, and only gradually changed in the more northern latitudes of our study, human risk for exposure to tick-borne pathogens has increased due to increased pathogen prevalence in I. scapularis. This dataset can be used in future studies of I. scapularis and pathogen prevalence across the northeastern USA and to evaluate models of I. scapularis ecology and population dynamics.

Indexed as

Anaplasma phagocytophilumBorreliaIxodesTick-Borne DiseasesAnimalsArachnid VectorsBabesia microtiBabesiosisBorrelia burgdorferiHumansLyme DiseaseNew EnglandNymphPrevalenceSeasonsSpatio-Temporal AnalysisBorrelia burgdorferiIxodes scapularisNortheastern United StatesPathogen prevalence

Identifiers

PMID39574137
PMCPMC11583392

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.