Connecticut researchers are involved in a new and potentially important effort to break the cycle of infection in wildlife and ticks that can happen without a Lyme disease vaccine. So the key is to find a way to give a specially designed vaccine to white-footed or deer mice. These carriers are one of the main ways the bacteria get into the ticks, which eventuallyInfecting people with Lyme disease.
Lyme disease vaccination in development
Scientists at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station recently completed a three-year study. In this study, mice in the backyards of 32 houses in Redding received food pellets coated with vaccines. In a recently published article about the study, researchers reported a decline in the number of infected white-footed mice. Less infected mice also mean fewer infections in the ticks that bite them and later infect humans.
The intent of the field trial was “to specifically infect the rodent reservoir in order toreduce tick infectionssaid Scott Williams. He is an agronomist at the experiment station and one of the co-authors of the paper. “Fewer infected ticks means fewer infections overall in the area,” said Kirby Stafford III, the state entomologist and chief scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. Stafford also added that repeated use of the Lyme disease vaccine in generations of wild mice would lead to an even greater reduction in the incidence of ticks carrying such bacteria in the long term.
Early phase research
“We are moving quickly through the process,” said Chris Przybyszewski, executive vice president of US Biologic, who also co-authored the published scientific paper on the Redding study. “We’re really excited to market this and make it available to people.”
However, numerous questions remain about this approach to combating Lyme disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention often lists diseases spread by ticks, mosquitoes, or fleas. Federal officials estimate that approximately 329,000 Americans contract the disease each year. The ticks become infected with the bacteria when they bite white-footed mice, other small rodents or birds.
In order for a female tick to reproduce, she needs a large meal. The easiest way to get this from deer is when there are a lot of them around. So it is the combination of large numbers of wild mice and large numbers of deer that results in high numbers of Lyme disease-carrying ticks.
However, this is not the first time that scientists have developed a Lyme disease vaccine. In 1998, researchers had introduced a human vaccine. The scientists said this was safe and effective after three applications. However, a series of lawsuits were filed in which patients claimed the vaccine caused joint inflammation and other problems. The resulting poor publicity and reporting led to the manufacturer withdrawing the vaccine from the market.
