This project is a cooperative agreement between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Yale University in collaboration with researchers at the University of Illinois, Michigan State University, and University of California, Irvine.

The aim of this multi-year study is to estimate the risk of Borrelia spirochete transmission to humans by Ixodes scapularis ticks in the U.S. To do this we are systematically sampling I. scapularis throughout the eastern half of the US and testing these samples for Borrelia infection. Based on tick density and infection prevalence measurements, we will develop and validate a spatially explicit risk model for Borrelia infection for the eastern US.

For a more detailed description, click here.