Ticks don't harm mice, study finds, meaning Lyme threat is not decreased
- Poughkeepsie Journal John Ferro
- Mar 24, 2014
- 1 min read
When researchers at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies began a recent study, they wanted to know the answer to a simple question: What effect do ticks have on the health of mice?After all, prior research had established that white-footed mice are the most prevalent and effective sources of the pathogens that cause Lyme disease and other serious ailments. Dutchess County has led the state in cases of Lyme, a disease with a potentially devastating impact on long-term health. What the scientists discovered shocked them.
In a study to appear in the April edition of the prestigious scientific journal Ecology, the scientists found that ticks appear to have no negative impact on the health or lifespan of mice.
"The question was, what is out there in nature that might regulate these mice?" said Rick Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at Cary. "And the thought occurred to me a long time ago that in addition to predators, one possibility, oddly enough, might be the ticks."
