Advancing Integrated Tick Management to Mitigate Burden of Tick-Borne Diseases

More than half the world's population is at risk of exposure to vector-borne pathogens. Annually, more than 1 billion people are infected and more than 1 million die from vector-borne diseases, including those caused by pathogens transmitted by ticks. The problem with tick borne diseases (TBD) is growing and getting more complicated. Most TBD are transmitted via tick bite from animals to humans and are termed zoonotic. Aspects related to global change, including climate variation, and shifts in land-use and habitat, seem to be driving the increased number of TBD cases worldwide. Notable TBD in the U.S. include anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease (LD), Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and tularemia. LD is a notifiable disease at the national level, the 6th most common disease reported to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, and the most common tick-borne disease in the U.S. Estimates by the CDC indicate that the number of Americans diagnosed with LD each year is around 300,000. A public dialogue on the problem with LD and other TBD in the U.S. has taken place for several years. An outcome of that public dialogue involves efforts at the community level to achieve effective TBD integrated pest management. This is reflected in PestWise, which is a collaborative suite of partnership programs established by the Environmental Protection Agency to promote environmental innovation in pest management where people live, work, learn, play, and farm. State and local agencies, federal entities that include the Department of Agriculture, academia, and stakeholders, facilitated the creation of the TBD-Integrated Pest Management Workgroup (TBD IPM WG). The TBD IPM WG developed a whitepaper to synergize efforts by federal agencies involved in tick management as it relates to human health, companion animals, and wildlife that may serve as disease reservoirs. Here, we review aspects of this initiative to use the principles of IPM to apply knowledge generated through hypothesis-driven research with the ultimate goal of reducing the number of TBD in the U.S. A summary of smartphone tick mobile applications is included.