State Entomologist Talks Ticks, Lyme Disease Protection At WestConn 

DANBURY — Connecticut State Entomologist Kirby Stafford, an internationally recognized expert on Lyme disease and the ticks that carry it, will discuss the origins and nature of the disease and means to prevent its infectious spread to humans in a lecture on Thursday, March 18, at Western Connecticut State University.

“Fight the Bite: Ticks and Lyme Disease,” presented as part of the WestConn “Science at Night” lecture series, will be at 7 pm in Room 125 of the Science Building on the university’s midtown campus, 181 White Street. A reception with light refreshments will be held in the Science Building Atrium following the lecture. Admission will be free and the public is invited to attend.

Dr Stafford, who holds a PhD in medical/veterinary entomology from Texas A&M University, joined the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station as a staff scientist in 1987, and since 2004 has served as CAES chief scientist and vice director. His research specialization is the ecology and control of the black-legged tick species Ixodes scapularis, which transmits infectious agents that cause Lyme disease as well as human babesiosis and ehrlichiosis.

Dr Stafford has collaborated with the Connecticut Department of Public Health and local health departments statewide to develop community-based projects designed to control tick populations and prevent the spread of Lyme disease. Under his leadership, CAES scientists have investigated a diverse range of integrated strategies for reducing the risk of tick-borne infection of humans, including landscape barriers, biological and natural controls, low-toxicity pesticides, deer population exclusion and reduction, and rodent pest management.

Dr Stafford’s lecture will outline various methods to achieve effective personal protection and control tick infestations in and around the home. The entomologist also will offer historical and epidemiological background on how Lyme disease has emerged as a regional and national public health problem since its initial identification in Connecticut in 1975. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a total of 28,921 confirmed Lyme disease cases nationwide in 2008, with the 2,738 cases in Connecticut representing nearly ten percent of the national total.

To view the Tick Management Handbook, access the publication online through the tab link on the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station home page at www.ct.gov/caes.

For more information on this lecture, contact Dr Thomas Philbrick, professor of biological and environmental sciences, at philbrickt@wcsu.edu or 203-837-8773, or the Office of University Relations at 203-837-8486.