In the Journal of Infectious Disease, there is an article on the success of a field vaccination program to reduce the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi, the cause of Lyme Disease, in ticks. One type of plot (portion of woods) had orally-administered vaccines targeted at White-footed Mice, the primary reservoir, and control plots had mice (as all woods do) that did not receive the vaccines.
Once the mice are vaccinated, the nymphal ticks carrying Borrelia will not be able to infect the mouse with the bacterium. Transmit, yes - infect, no. Then subsequent ticks feeding on the mouse will not be able to get Borrelia from the mouse - this interrupts the infection-transmission cycle that spills over to humans. For more information on Lyme Disease, visit the CDC page on Lyme Disease.
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| Adult tick. The spike in the front is the hypostome and is the part that is stuck into your body. The barbs keep the tick from being pulled off easily. |
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