CLOSE

Cases of Lyme disease in Dutchess and Ulster counties are underestimated in federal statistics.
Journal of Alex H. Wagner / Poughkeepsie

Tick on plant (Photo: Courtesy Photo of Robin Moore)

New Study Examines Nearly 20 Years of Forest and Climate Data in Dutchess County Could

Researchers at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, a nonprofit research and environmental education organization based in Millbrook, badyzed the data and found a greater risk. high to contract Lyme disease – the disease in forests where the rodent population is more important ante and the number of foxes, possums and raccoons is lower.

T They also found that tick-borne diseases, including Lyme disease, are closely related to fluctuations in acorn supply and predator communities in oak-rich forests.

A research team spent 19 years collecting data and monitoring small mammals, including mice and chipmunks, as well as blacklegged ticks, climate and forests in Dutchess County. Richard Ostfeld, an ecologist of the disease at the Cary Institute, led the team.

Ostfeld hopes that the information will help communities and residents determine how to exercise caution when they are outdoors, in their backyards or in the wild.

"Using nearly two decades of data on the forest food web, we focused on unraveling the ecological conditions governing the number of infected ticks in the landscape," Ostfeld said.

The findings were recently published in an issue of Ecology, a journal of the Ecological Society of America. Tick-borne diseases are linked to fluctuations in the supply of acorns and the structure of the predator community.

  • Forests composed of coyotes without bobcats, foxes and opossums have the highest risk of ticks. Transmission Diseases
  • Sites with a wide variety of predators had a lower infection in nymphal ticks – black-legged ticks that were about the size of a poppy seed – compared to coyote-dominated sites. Coyotes sometimes move other predators such as foxes and lynx that are more effective against rodent populations than coyotes
  • The number of infected nymphs was the lowest in denser forests and more diverse predators. disease because moisture and moisture cause a greater number of infected ticks. Hot, dry weather in the spring or winter causes a decrease in infected ticks.

    • Zero Terrain of Lyme Disease

    The Hudson Valley is the epicenter of Lyme Disease and Were infected with the disease from 2000 to 2016. The counties of the valley of Hudson's have a high number of blacklegged ticks, which can carry Lyme bacteria.

    Autoplay

    See the thumbnails

    See the captions

    Next slide

    According to the most recent report of the Department of Public Health, the Dutchess County saw 386 cases of Lyme disease in 2016 out of 7,543 cases in all. State. The neighboring counties of Sullivan, Orange and Columbia have also seen a high number.

    Lyme disease is the fastest growing vector disease in the United States with 30,000 new cases confirmed and reported annually to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number does not reflect all cases of Lyme disease diagnosed each year in the United States

    Rick Ostfeld holding a white-footed mouse (Photo: Courtesy Photo: Robin Moore)

    Data Study

    The research is based on the badysis of 19 years of data collected in Dutchess County. Since the early 1990s, Ostfeld and a team of Cary researchers have also monitored six forest plots on the grounds of the Cary Institute in Millbrook with a focus on small mammals, blacklegged ticks , tick-borne pathogens, acorns and climate. In 1965 and 2013, researchers also monitored tick infection rates and predator communities at 126 sites throughout the county using black LED camera envelopes that were installed throughout the county

    ]. ] Over the years, about 50 scientists and researchers have participated in the study or are still involved

    "When it was hot and humid, ticks did well, but if ticks were hot and dry, ticks did not perform as well" said Ostfeld. "Ticks spend about 95% of their time away from hosts in the field. They are sensitive to desiccation and need moisture to survive. "

    He called the similarities – the effects of Lyme disease and the other two diseases transmitted by ticks of anaplasmosis and babesiosis -" rather cool. "The warning sign is also a good warning sign for others," he said.As part of the study, the researchers monitored six parcels of woodland, including small mammals, blacklegged ticks, tick-borne pathogens, deer, acorns and climate (Photo: Courtesy Photo)