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Posted: 10th May 2017

Wildlife conservation ‘could increase risk of Lyme disease’
Tick on a leaf
Some management activities could lead to an increased risk of Lyme disease by increasing the habitat available for ticks.
Some activities may affect tick populations

Some forms of conservation action could increase the risk of Lyme disease, new research has found.

Writing in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, researchers describe how conservation management activities could affect tick populations, wildlife host communities and the transmission of the Borrelia bacteria that can cause Lyme disease.

The study found that while managing the environment can have positive effects - such as benefits for human health - there should be consideration of disease vectors like ticks and mosquitoes in conservation management decisions.

The research was led by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with Scottish Natural Heritage, the James Hutton Institute and Public Health England.

“We identified several widespread conservation management practices which could affect Lyme disease risk: the management of deer populations, woodland regeneration, urban greening and control of invasive species,” explained lead author Dr Caroline Millins from the University of Glasgow’s School of Veterinary Medicine.

“We found that some management activities could lead to an increased risk of Lyme disease by increasing the habitat available for wildlife hosts and the tick vector. These activities were woodland regeneration and biodiversity policies which increase the amount of forest bordering open areas as well as urban greening.
 
“However, if deer populations are managed alongside woodland regeneration projects, this can reduce tick populations and the risk of Lyme disease.”

Senior author Dr Roman Black added that widespread management activities could teach us a lot about how changes to the environment can affect the chances of humans coming into contact with ticks.

“We recommend that monitoring ticks and pathogens should accompany conservation measures such as woodland regeneration and urban greening projects. This will allow appropriate guidelines and mitigation strategies to be developed, while also helping us to better understand the processes leading to higher Lyme disease risk,” he said. 



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