New publications from the Lab of Dr. Michael Allen in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics
Tracking ticks in Texas
Lead author Dr. Yan Zhang published an update on tick surveillance results in Texas
spanning from 2014-2021. The Tick-Borne Disease Research Laboratory at UNT Health
conducts pathogen testing on all ticks submitted to the Texas Department of State
Health Services. This article reports the results of these tests spanning 2014-2021,
and discusses the geographic distribution of tick species and the pathogens they carry
to monitor risks for the general public across the state. Authors include Zhang, Elizabeth
Mitchell, Rebecca Kilgore, and Dr. Michael Allen.
The passive surveillance program allows the research team to monitor the levels of
tick-borne pathogens of humans and their risks to residents across the state. The
results show a slightly higher overall bacterial prevalence rate over the previous
reporting period (2008-2014), highlighting the need for continued tick pathogen surveillance
in Texas.
Read more: "Surveillance of Ticks and Tickborne Borrelia, Ehrlichia, and Rickettsia spp., Texas,
USA, 2014–2021" in Emerging Infectious Diseases
Understanding the prevalence of Lyme disease
Allen, in collaboration with researchers at UT Arlington, published their modeling
results on how mammal biodiversity affects Lyme disease risk.
The collaboration with UTA Mathematics professor Dr. Christopher Kribs and his students
models how changes in abundance of mammal species in Lyme endemic areas influences
disease risk. Authors include Carli Peterson (UTA), Erika Gallo (UTA), Allen and Kribs
(UTA).
“What Carli's models suggest is that mammal biodiversity can provide a buffer to disease
risk, but also that the abundance of certain mammal species in low biodiversity scenarios
can disproportionately affect the levels of infected nymphal ticks and risks posed
to humans,” Allen said.
Read more: "Host contributions to Borrelia burgdorferi (Spirochaetales: Spirochaetaceae) infection
prevalence in Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) nymphs" in Journal of Medical Entomology