HAS A NEW FLAVOR AFTER 50 YEARS, AND WE’RE GOING TO TASTE TEST I LOVE THE IDEA OF THAT FLAVOR,
TOO. I CAN’T WAIT TO TRY THAT
TICKS ARE POPPING UP ALL OVER
MICHIGAN AND GAINING A FOOTHOLD
IN AREAS WHERE PEOPLE USED TO
FEEL SAFE. THINK TWICE RIGHT,
AND THAT’S FORCING RESEARCHERS
TO GET CREATIVE AND FINDING THEM
AND THE DISEASES THEY CARRY.
DOCTOR MCGEORGE JOINS US WITH
HOW BUG THE SIZE OF THE SESAME
SEED IS REALLY THREATENING. US
WHEN WE HEAD OUTDOORS, DOC.
YEAH. THAT’S EXACTLY RIGHT.
KAREN AND JASON, YOU KNOW, 20
YEARS AGO IN OUR AREA KICKS WERE
REALLY JUST A NUISANCE BECAUSE
THEY DIDN’T CARRY MANY DANGEROUS
DISEASES, BUT THAT HAS CHANGED
DRASTICALLY AND NOW TICKS THAT
CARRY LYME DISEASE AND OTHER
SERIOUS ILLNESSES ARE READILY
FOUND IN MICHIGAN, CAUSING
RESEARCHERS TO UP THEIR GAME AND
TRACKING AND TESTING TINY TICKS.
SO THEY LIKE TO BE IN LOW PLACES
AND UNDER THE VEGETATION, THE
SAME VEGETATION THAT LITTERS
EVERYONE’S YARD AT THE EDGES
BEYOND YOUR LAWN. THAT’S WHERE
TICKS LIVE IN THE LEAFLET, ER,
SOME OF THE BUSHES THAT’S WHERE
THEY’RE GOING TO BE HANGING OUT
, HANGING OUT WAITING FOR THEIR
NEXT BLOOD MEAL, WHICH COULD
COME FROM YOU, YOUR PETS OR
ANOTHER CRITTER IN YOUR YARD.
LITTLE MOUSE. YOU’RE DONE. WE’VE
BEEN SAMPLING IN THIS GENERAL
AREA SINCE 2004. BUT IT WAS ONLY
IN ABOUT 2015 24. 13 OR SO THAT
WE STARTED SEEING THE BLACK LIKE
IT TICKS. DOCTOR JEAN SAO IS AN
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN THE
DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES AND
WILDLIFE AND LARGE ANIMAL
CLINICAL SCIENCES AT MICHIGAN
STATE UNIVERSITY. SHE’S BEEN
STUDYING TICKS FOR NEARLY 30
YEARS, SHE SAYS. THE BLACK
LEGGED OR DEER TICK IS
ESPECIALLY WORRISOME BECAUSE
THAT’S THE TICK, THE TRANSMITS
LYME DISEASE TO GET A BETTER
UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBLEM. I
SPRAYED MYSELF WITH DEEP TUCKED
MY PANT LEGS INTO MY SOCKS AND
SPENT SOME TIME WALKING THE
WOODS WITH HER. WHAT WE’VE
NOTICED IS THAT OVER THE YEARS
HERE IN THIS AREA THAT TICK
POPULATIONS HAVE BEEN
INCREASING. SO I WOULD SAY ABOUT
2010 2012 2014 15. THERE WASN’T
ANY COMPLAINTS FROM THE DEER
HUNTERS AT THE QUARRY MARSH
ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH STATION
ABOUT 20 MILES NORTHEAST OF
LANSING, DR. TSAO AND HER
COLLEAGUES COME TO COLLECT AND
STUDY THIS GROWING THREAT. BUT
THEN STARTING 2014 15, WE
STARTED PICKING UP SOME TICKS BY
DRAGGING AS WELL AS PEOPLE
TALKING ABOUT THEM, FINDING THEM
ON THEIR DOGS, AND SUCH DRAGGING
FOR TICKS IS A SIMPLE WAY TO
SAMPLE AN AREA. A LARGE CLOTH IS
DRAGGED OVER VEGETATION AND
TICKS LOOKING FOR A HOST CAN BE
CAPTURED AND COUNTED. THE
RESEARCH TEAM ALSO SETS TRAPS TO
CATCH MICE. MICE OFTEN CARRY AND
GET FED ON BY TICKS, JUST
CHECKING IT FOR TICKS. BUT HERE
IS A LITTLE LARVAL TICK THAT’S
ALMOST ENGORGED. ANY TICKS THAT
ARE FOUND ARE REMOVED FOR STUDY.
BUT THE RESEARCHERS ALSO TAKE A
SMALL BIOPSY FROM THE EAR OF THE
MOUSE. THESE BIOPSY PUNCHES ARE
TAKEN SO THAT WE CAN THEN
EVENTUALLY TEST THESE MICE. UM
LOOKING FOR THE D N A OF THE
PATHOGENS THAT CAUSE LYME
DISEASE AND ALSO HUMAN AND A
PLASMA ASUS. AFTER THE EXAM. ALL
THE MICE ARE RELEASED WHERE THEY
WERE FOUND. IN ADDITION TO
DRAGGING FOR TICKS AND CAPTURING
INDIVIDUAL MICE, RESEARCHERS
HAVE BECOME MORE CREATIVE,
FINDING HUMANE WAYS TO CATCH
TICK INFESTED MICE AND CATCH
THEIR TICK HITCHHIKERS USING
SUPPLIES THAT ANYONE CAN BUY AT
A HARDWARE STORE. SO THESE MOUSE
HOUSES THEY ARE PERFECT SAMPLING
DEVICE FOR TICKS IN THE WOODS
HERE BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE TO DO
VIRTUAL WORK. THE MICE DO THE
WORK, THE MICE PICK UP THE TICKS
FROM THE LEAF LITTER AND THEN
WHEN THEY’RE EITHER PRINTING
THEMSELVES OR THE TICKS JUST
NATURALLY FALL OFF BECAUSE THEY
HAVE TAKEN THEIR FULL BLOOD MEAL
WHEN THEY FALL OFF. THERE’S A
LITTLE NESTING MATERIAL IN
THERE. THEY’LL FALL OFF INTO
THERE, BUT THEN EVENTUALLY
THEY’LL MAKE THEIR WAY DOWN
THROUGH A FUNNEL HERE. THERE’S A
GREAT THAT THEY’RE ON A FINAL.
THEN THAT TAKES FALL DOWN INTO
THESE TUBES, AND WE JUST COME BY
PERIODICALLY A WEEK EVERY TWO
WEEKS OR SO, AND WE COLLECT OUR
SAMPLE. HER RESEARCH HAS ALREADY
FOUND LYME DISEASE CARRYING
TICKS IN THE MAJORITY OF
MICHIGAN, AND IF THEY HAVEN’T
BEEN FOUND, IT’S JUST A MATTER
OF TIME. AND EVEN IN AREAS OF
DETROIT, WHERE YOU HAVE CITY
PARKS, WHERE THERE ARE DEER AND
ALSO ALL THESE OTHER CRITTERS
YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE THOSE TAKES
EVENTUALLY. NOW THE LATEST LYME
DISEASE RISK MAP ACTUALLY SHOWS
THAT SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN
COUNTIES, INCLUDING WAYNE,
OAKLAND, MACOMB, ST CLAIR AND
WASHINGTON, ALL HAVE A
DOCUMENTED RISK OF LYME DISEASE
. IF YOU FIND A TICK ON YOURSELF
, IT’S IMPORTANT TO REMOVE IT AS
SOON AS POSSIBLE, BECAUSE IF
IT’S A DEER TICK, AND IT’S
REMOVED IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS OF
ATTACHMENT THE RISK OF GETTING
LYME DISEASE IS ESSENTIALLY
ZERO. SO THEN THAT LEADS ME TO
WONDER. HOW CAN YOU TELL BETWEEN
THAT BLACK, THE BLACK LEGGED
TICK AND THE DEER TICK? BECAUSE
THEY LOOK I MEAN TO ME, THEY
LOOK VERY SIMILAR. SO YEAH, WELL
, THE BLACK LEGGED TICK IS
ACTUALLY THE DEER TICK. THE
ISSUE IS THERE ARE OTHER TICKS
IN THE STATE. SO YOU KNOW TO
SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY IS FAMILIAR
WITH HICKS. IT’S ACTUALLY NOT
THAT DIFFICULT, BUT TO THE
AVERAGE PERSON, IT WOULD BE A
CHALLENGE, AND THAT’S IMPORTANT
BECAUSE THE MUCH MORE COMMON DOG
TICK THAT’S ACTUALLY FOUND HERE
IN MICHIGAN HAS A VERY LOW RISK
OF TRANSMITTING ANY DISEASE AT
ALL. SO KNOWING WHAT TICK YOU’RE
DEALING WITH CAN BE VERY HELPFUL
AND TO HELP WITH THAT, TOMORROW
MORNING, I’M GOING TO SHOW YOU
AN APP THAT DR TSAO TOOK PART IN