Short Wave Tick Check! Meet Your Backyard Bloodsuckers
Jul 5, 2023
Explore the fascinating world of ticks and their role as disease carriers, particularly Lyme disease. Discover the research conducted in the Big Thicket National Preserve, diving into their feeding habits and geographic variations. Learn about efforts to create a vaccine against cattle fever ticks, with potential human applications on the horizon. Join a journey into the life of a medical entomologist dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of these critters and the implications of tick-borne illnesses as human habitats expand.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Adela's Inspiration
- Adela Oliva Chavez's interest in ticks began on her family's cattle farm in Honduras.
- Her twin sister's undiagnosed vector-borne illness fueled her dedication to studying these diseases.
Lyme Disease and Tick Feeding
- Lyme disease, the most common U.S. tick-borne illness, spreads through black-legged ticks.
- Ticks can feed for up to seven days, growing 100 times their weight.
Tick Removal
- Remove ticks within 24 hours to prevent Lyme disease transmission.
- Early Lyme disease symptoms can include a bull's-eye rash at the bite site.