Penn Biologists Believe Migration is Behind Rise in Lyme Disease

University of Pennsylvania biologists, along with researchers from the New York Department of Health and State University of New York at Albany, have identified migrating populations of blacklegged ticks as the source of the spread of Lyme disease in areas in the United States historically free of the disease. In the study, published in the journal Evolution, the researchers used genetic and phylogeographic analysis to discern the migratory patterns of new tick populations in the Northeastern United States. The study was led by postdoctoral researcher Camilo E. Khatchikian, a member of the labor of Associate Professor of Biology Dustin Brisson, senior author of the study. The findings have implications regarding future strategies to control tick populations and reduce the spread of the disease.

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