Wyoming Tick Surveillance
About the Project 
Despite having the highest incidence rate of Colorado Tick Fever (CTF) in the U.S., historically Wyoming has not conducted any tick surveillance. That’s now changing, with the launch of Teton County Weed and Pest (TCWP)'s tick surveillance program, the first in Wyoming. The UW Biodiversity Institute will be a Laramie-based partner.
The surveillance will entail collecting ticks, identifying the species, and testing the ticks for pathogens that cause disease. Tick collection will be conducted by both TCWP and community scientists, allowing anyone in Wyoming to participate.
The tick surveillance program is aimed at addressing gaps in tick research in Wyoming to better provide data for public health and inform people of local risks. Some questions driving the surveillance include: Which tick species are in Wyoming that are of medical and veterinary significance? What are Wyoming ticks infected with and what are the infection rates of the pathogens that are in the ticks? Are some ticks infected with multiple pathogens? Data collection will focus on tick richness, diversity, abundance, phenology, distribution, as well as tick-borne pathogen presence and prevalence. The TCWP laboratory will be testing live, non-blood-fed ticks for pathogens that can cause diseases in humans.
How To Participate
Tick surveillance participants can conduct both passive and active surveillance. For passive surveillance, recreationists who discover a tick on them will send that to TCWP (live, non-blood-fed ticks only). For active surveillance, people will follow a standardized protocol in the field for collection. Community scientists will receive surveillance materials, training on surveillance protocols, and will be expected to conduct several surveys throughout the summer season.
To learn more about tick-borne diseases and participate in the project, submit a community scientist interest form at www.tcweed.org/vectorborne.
