Former veterinarian turned immunologist Mario Gomes-Solecki focused beyond animals susceptible to Lyme. She studied the large population of Borrelia burgdorferi infected white-footed mice and on reducing the number of ticks that become carrier after biting a mouse.
Roughly half of ticks carrying Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, pick it up by biting infected white-footed mice. That makes these fist-size fuzz balls the most important carriers of the bacteria and a prime target for a Lyme vaccine, Kirby Stafford says.
Source: Scientific American, January 29, 2019. Link.
. . . no one could ever vaccinate enough mice to make a dent in the Lyme epidemic using needles . . . (researchers)
came up with something that could be broadcast into the environment like seeds: kibble that contains an oral vaccine but would be tasty to white-footed mice.
INSIGHTS: Two things stand in the way of a comprehensive solution:
- the kibble-based vaccine targets only white-footed mice only
- the lay public manages tick control vs. a government effort, such as mosquito control