Prevention is the key to controlling infection with Lyme Disease. The Medical Entomology laboratory coordinates a surveillance project that was designed to inform us of where one might encounter blacklegged ticks (a.k.a. deer ticks) (Ixodes scapularis)in the state of Iowa. These are the ticks that can transmit the bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, that causes Lyme Disease. In addition, the project aims to determine if ticks in those regions are infected with the Lyme Disease bacterium, because the risk of contracting Lyme disease is strongly associated with the presence and number of these ticks and the proportion of those that carry B. burgdorferi.
As of August 21st, 2008, 119 blacklegged tick samples have been submitted to the ISU medical entomology laboratory from counties around the state. The pie charts on the map above indicate the proportion of the three major tick species sent in from each county. Red denotes the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis), yellow - the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) and blue - the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum). The total number of ticks submitted from each county is indicated by the size of the pie chart.
Because they are infected with and transmit the bacterium that causes Lyme disease (
Borrelia burgdorferi), black-legged ticks that are submitted are tested for the presence of
B. burgdorferi. Positive samples have been identified in 7 counties (shown in grey) thus far in 2008.
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Mosquitoes and Mosquito-Borne Diseases
Every year, the ISU Medical Entomology Research Laboratory, in a cooperative project with the Iowa Department of Public Health and the University Hygienic Lab (Iowa City, IA), monitors mosquito populations and mosquito-borne disease in the state of Iowa. This year (2008), we are responding to concerns that mosquito populations will explode with the extensive rainfall and flooding that has taken place in May and June. If you'd like to see how mosquito populations this year compare to years previous, please see our surveillance information at http://iowa-mosquito.ent.iastate.edu. If you'd like more information, please contact us using contact information provided on this site.
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