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Epidemiologic studies of hard tick-associated illness in the United States

dc.contributor.authorMurphree, Rendi, author
dc.contributor.authorBachand, Annette M., advisor
dc.date.accessioned2024-03-13T20:12:27Z
dc.date.available2024-03-13T20:12:27Z
dc.date.issued2009
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation describes three epidemiologic studies of hard tick-associated illness in the United States. The first is the prospective health assessment of Fort Campbell, Kentucky patrons bitten by ticks during 2004-2006. The study was designed to determine the frequency, clinical characteristics, and etiology of Amblyomma americanum-associated illness and to identify associated risk factors. Amblyomma americanum is an aggressive human biting tick associated with a Lyme disease-like illness of unknown etiology. Study findings suggested that a variety of symptoms were temporally associated with tick bite but data provided no clear evidence that symptoms were caused by an infectious process. Removing ticks by hand or being bitten on a limb may have been risk factors for illness. The second examines 248,074 cases of Lyme disease reported to the Centers for Disease Control during 1992-2006 using descriptive and inferential statistics. In the United States, Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, a spirochete transmitted to humans by infected Ixodes scapularis and I. pacificus ticks. During the 15-year study period, the number of cases reported annually increased 101% and the majority of cases occurred in northeastern and north-central states. An increasing trend in the number of counties reporting at least one case annually was observed in Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. A disproportionate increasing trend in reported cases was observed in children and young males compared with other demographic groups. The third study is a pilot ecologic analysis of human social or economic factors affecting, or resulting from, Lyme disease emergence. The objectives were to identify space-time clusters of increased Lyme disease risk and determine if risk could be partially explained using existing data on environment, socioeconomics, and healthcare. As expected, Ixodes tick distribution was a significant predictor of counties with increased risk. Measures of socioeconomic status surfaced as predictors of ecologic risk, and it appeared that persons of high SES lived where ticks were reported in northeastern states and persons of low SES lived where ticks were reported in the north-central states.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediumdoctoral dissertations
dc.identifierETDF_Murphree_2009_3374667.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10217/237884
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartof2000-2019
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.rights.licensePer the terms of a contractual agreement, all use of this item is limited to the non-commercial use of Colorado State University and its authorized users.
dc.subjectAmblyomma americanum
dc.subjectBorrelia burgdorferi
dc.subjectIxodes scapularis
dc.subjectLyme disease
dc.subjecttick-borne diseases
dc.subjectepidemiology
dc.titleEpidemiologic studies of hard tick-associated illness in the United States
dc.typeText
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineEnvironmental and Radiological Health Sciences
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

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