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Program Projects

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Research Goals

PROGRAM PROJECT 1 | Addressing existing and emerging issues of tick-borne diseases in the SE.

Amblyomma americanum (Lone Star Tick, LST) is an aggressive tick across the SE, and controlling LST populations and preventing tick- human interactions remains a challenge throughout the region. Tickborne Infections (TBIs) have been reported historically in the SE; however, the rates of confirmed human cases for TBIs caused by Ehrlichia and Rickettsia species in this region have remained low, rather than intensifying dramatically with the expansion of endemic tick vector populations and an increased occurrence of human-tick encounters. As a result, a fundamental public health question is “Why are endemic tick-borne diseases and associated illnesses in the SE infrequently documented despite the persistence of the tick vectors and pathogens?” Importantly, alpha-Gal syndrome (AGS), a severe tick bite-associated anaphylaxis that occurs in the absence of tick-borne pathogen infection is raising alarms across the US, but to date, awareness of the epidemiology for this disease remains poor. To address these challenges, we will (i) develop, assess, and validate novel and known acaricides and test delivery modalities, (ii) gain insight into vector, host, and ecological factors that influence human-tick encounters especially in communities with high AGS and TBIs, (iii) and systematically evaluate integrated tick control strategies that can be implemented in these same communities at increasing scales, including personal, occupational, engineering, and environmental management approaches to mitigate tick bite risk. Expected outcomes: (a) Clarifying public knowledge of tickborne illnesses and associated diseases, tick-bite avoidance, tick control options and new technologies (acaricides). (b) Knowledge products to inform community-specific public health message output. (c) Utility and/or efficacy of current interventions and candidate chemical actives in reducing LST abundance and tick bite exposure in hotspots.  

PROJECT 2 | Challenging the paradigm of a reactive response to mosquito-borne disease outbreaks in the SE.

We have described the presence of dengue virus serotype 2 and serotype 4 in natural populations of Aedes aegypti in Florida in the absence of index human cases, suggesting that prior travel-related human cases of dengue fever may have seeded infection in the mosquito population, leading to outbreaks. Furthermore, we have shown that a refined mosquito collection and sample-handling approach can lead to the rapid identification of arbovirus infections in surveilled mosquito populations, enabling near ‘real-time’ vector control. The current national policy is reactive, relying on the identification of human cases followed by targeted abatement near the residences of infected individuals. We will evaluate the potential utility and logistical feasibility of xenosurveillance in Miami-Dade County, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico during a defined time period of specific Ae. aegypti populations using selected trap placement in preventing outbreaks. Expected outcomes: (a) Activities focused on capturing Aedes adult mosquito temporal movement and host-seeking in an intervention site. (b) Evaluating mosquito bite exposure through serology. (c) Reducing insecticide-resistant Aedes populations through novel vector control tool interventions and the use of resistance-breaking chemical actives. (d) Inform the design of proactive xenosurveillance strategies for non-endemic high-risk zones  

TRAINING

 

T1: Provide training opportunities in the public health entomology community of practice

Maintain the momentum of our successful program (e.g., Dodd Short Courses, Tick Workshops, CEU-credited Mosquito/Tick Online modules, and PHE Internships) in the next iteration of the SECVBD. 

T2.1: Innovative applied research projects to underpin graduate training in the SE. 

SECVBD Graduate Fellowship in Public Health Entomology & PHE Internships  

T2.2: Vector-Borne Disease Public Health Certificate 

We will leverage existing university and SECVBD courses and the power of inter-institutional training through online platforms to offer an interdisciplinary Vector-Borne Disease Public Health Certificate