New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases (NEWVEC) Highlighted in UMass Website Feature
The center is funded through a $10 million, five-year award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Content
The work of the research team leading the New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases (NEWVEC) at UMass Amherst, which includes Assistant Professor of Epidemiology Andrew Lover, is featured in a new story appearing on the UMass Amherst website. The story examines the public health intervention work being conducted at NEWVEC, funded through a $10 million, five-year award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to prevent vector-borne diseases and test evidence-based solutions for more effective control of ticks and mosquitoes across New England. The center is directed by Stephen Rich, UMass Amherst professor of microbiology, with Andrew Lover serving as deputy director, and Guang Xu, research professor of microbiology, as co-investigator, along with a multidisciplinary group of scientists at the University of Rhode Island, Northern Vermont University, Western Connecticut State University, the University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth College, and the University of Maine.
Rich said NEWVEC aims to “bring to bear the talents of a diverse group of experts to answer important questions around vector-borne diseases, in order to help pest control groups and public health agencies use their limited resources to the greatest effect.” This network of researchers meets weekly to compare data and notes.
NEWVEC’s first big research undertaking, known as Project ITCH (“Is Tick Control Helping?”), aims to improve understanding of best practices for individuals and families to protect themselves from ticks at home. In the first phase of the project, going on now, the researchers are surveying residents (take the survey here) across New England about what they’re doing on their properties to reduce the incidence of ticks and tick bites. In the second phase, they will study whether these efforts are effective at reducing tick-borne illnesses. The results of Project ITCH will be used to educate the public about best practices.
The UMass researchers are also interested in understanding how much tick exposure occurs on residential properties compared to other settings, like hiking trails and sports fields. Lover and Rich have been studying the location of tick exposures using small GPS devices carried by participants who have and have not had recent tick-borne disease.
"Figuring out where people are being exposed will help us develop more effective and targeted messaging to the public on how to protect themselves,” said Lover. “For example, we could post QR codes at trailheads with information on the level of tick activity on that trail.”
Other NEWVEC research focuses on testing novel approaches and products to protect against ticks. Beyond prevention, NEWVEC's researchers also aim to better understand Lyme disease, including why it causes long-term symptoms in a subset of patients.