Tick-Borne Surveillance Patterns in Perceived Non-Endemic Geographic Areas: Human Tick Encounters and Disease Outcomes
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Texans and Ticks (TTS) Survey
TTS Respondent Tick Bite Encounters
2.2. Multi-Layer Thematic Mapping and Statistical Analysis
2.2.1. Comparison Mapping of TTS Respondents to Human Lyme Disease Cases
2.2.2. Comparison Mapping of TTS Respondents to Canine Tick-Borne Diseases
2.2.3. Comparison Mapping of TTS Respondents by Neighboring County and Eco-Regions
3. Results
3.1. TTS Respondent Demographics, Symptoms, and Diagnostic Information
3.2. Multi-Layer Thematic Mapping of TTS Respondents to Human Lyme Disease Cases
3.3. Multi-Layer Thematic Mapping of TTS Respondents to Canine Tick-Borne Disease Cases
3.4. Multi-Layer Thematic Mapping of TTS Respondents to Eco-Regions and Precipitation Suitable for Tick Populations
4. Discussion
4.1. Significance of Findings
4.2. Limitations
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Disease | Pathogen(s) | Life Stages Infected |
---|---|---|
Anaplasmosis | Anaplasma phagocytophilum | Nymphs, Adults |
Babesiosis | Babesia microti | Nymphs, Adults |
Borrelia miyamotoi disease | Borrelia miyamotoi | Larvae, Nymphs, Adults |
Ehrlichiosis | Ehrlichia muris eauclairensis | Nymphs, Adults |
Lyme disease | Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia mayonii | Nymphs, Adults |
Powassan virus disease | Powassan virus (lineage II/deer tick lineage) | Larvae, Nymphs, Adults |
Age (N = 95) | ||
---|---|---|
18–30 | 19 | 20% |
31–45 | 25 | 26% |
46–60 | 35 | 37% |
A family member, 17 or younger | 7 | 7% |
older than 60 years of age | 9 | 9% |
p < 0.001 | ||
Occupation (N = 95) | ||
Not working | 32 | 34% |
Student | 20 | 21% |
Work Outdoors | 6 | 6% |
Work indoors | 31 | 33% |
Work indoors, but spend a lot of time outside | 18 | 19% |
Diagnostic Type (N = 95) | ||
Clinical diagnosis by a doctor | 46 | 48% |
Western Blot with 5 or more bands, i.e., “CDC Positive” | 22 | 23% |
Western Blot with some bands positive, Not “CDC Positive” | 33 | 35% |
IGenX or other speciality lab | 39 | 41% |
Tick Bite Encounter Location | ||
Recalled a tick bite | 43 | 45% |
p = 0.4119 | ||
Symptoms Experienced over the Last Five Years (N = 92) | ||
Extreme or unusual fatigue | 84 | 91% |
Brain fog or concentration problems | 84 | 91% |
Headaches | 82 | 89% |
Neck or back pain | 82 | 89% |
Depression or anxiety | 80 | 87% |
Flu-like illness | 79 | 86% |
Other unusual or ongoing symptoms | 78 | 85% |
Joint Pain or Swelling/Migrating Joint Pain | 77 | 84% |
Gastrointestinal/stomach problems | 76 | 83% |
Night sweats | 71 | 77% |
Fever | 62 | 67% |
Rash | 57 | 62% |
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Maxwell, S.P.; McNeely, C.L.; Thomas, K.; Brooks, C. Tick-Borne Surveillance Patterns in Perceived Non-Endemic Geographic Areas: Human Tick Encounters and Disease Outcomes. Healthcare 2021, 9, 771. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9060771
Maxwell SP, McNeely CL, Thomas K, Brooks C. Tick-Borne Surveillance Patterns in Perceived Non-Endemic Geographic Areas: Human Tick Encounters and Disease Outcomes. Healthcare. 2021; 9(6):771. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9060771
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaxwell, Sarah P., Connie L. McNeely, Kevin Thomas, and Chris Brooks. 2021. "Tick-Borne Surveillance Patterns in Perceived Non-Endemic Geographic Areas: Human Tick Encounters and Disease Outcomes" Healthcare 9, no. 6: 771. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9060771
APA StyleMaxwell, S. P., McNeely, C. L., Thomas, K., & Brooks, C. (2021). Tick-Borne Surveillance Patterns in Perceived Non-Endemic Geographic Areas: Human Tick Encounters and Disease Outcomes. Healthcare, 9(6), 771. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9060771