News and Highlights: November 2006

Pilot study to check for tick-borne pathogens from East Tennessee deer

CWH researcher Graham Hickling and his colleagues in UT's Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology are working
with TWRA staff and hunters to investigate pathogens carried by deer-associated ticks in Eastern Tennessee.

Ticks were collected from deer brought by successful hunters to the TWRA's Bethyl Valley Rd checkstation
during the restricted hunt on the weekend of 11-12 November 2006.

These ticks will be screened at the University of Tennessee for four main pathogen groups,
all of which are likely present in the region:

- Rickettsia (responsible for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever RMSF);
- Borrelia (responsible for Lyme disease and STARI);
- Ehrlichia (causes Human ehrlichiosis);
- Anaplasma (causes Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis HGE).

Preliminary results of the screening will be available by the end of the year.

Other Center for Wildlife Health news