34th Annual Student Research Conference
Seasonality and Trends of Amblyomma americanum Nymph Lifestage Activity and its Correlation with Human Ehrlichiosis Seasonality in Missouri
Sarah K. Gainer
Dr. Stephanie Fore and Dr. Dean DeCock, Faculty Mentors
Amblyomma americanum (lone star tick) is a known vector for Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis (HME). The seasonality of the nymph lifestage was determined using ticks that were collected from 2007-2013 using bait and drag methods every other week from February to December. The activity of nymphs accelerated in early May, peaked mid-May, and decelerated in October. There is a six-month season in which the nymph life stage is active in Missouri. Using previously published HME seasonality data for Missouri, a four to seven week lag was seen between peak active nymph season and peak HME season. Linear regression was performed with aligned dates between the two datasets and no significant correlation was determined between total nymph activity and the number of HME cases reported annually, as well as nymph activity and HME cases reported weekly within each season. Investigating the seasonal lag may be beneficial to tick-borne disease awareness and prevention.
Keywords: Amblyomma americanum, Nymph, Missouri, Season, Ehrlichiosis, Trend, Correlation
Topic(s):Biology
Presentation Type: Face-to-Face Oral Presentation
Session: 301-2
Location: SUB GEO
Time: 1:45