Applause for B.P. tick control approach (letter to editor)

Recently, the US Congress has requested more funding from the National Institutes of Health to develop strategies to prevent, diagnose and treat tick-borne bacterial diseases, such as Lyme disease.

A report from Science magazine (19/04/19) detailed new approaches including the human vaccine and even the oral vaccine for mice and other rodents. The oral vaccine mobilizes the rodent's immune system, like the human response, to kill the bacteria carried by the ticks that cause Lyme disease. A tick free of the bacteria responsible for the disease can not transmit any Lyme disease to humans.

Dr. Richard Ostfeld of the Cary Ecosystem Studies Institute has been recognized in this report as being not only a leader in preventing Lyme disease, but also an innovator. An approach developed by Ostfeld to control the tick population that infects rodents is being deployed on Staten Island this spring.

We are grateful for the foresight of B. P. Oddo who consulted Ostfeld two years ago. WWe applaud the APP's approach, even though the PP has recently been ridiculed by the press for its bold steps to protect us.

(Dr. Robert Marraccino is a resident of Grasmere.)