The
most important carriers of the Lyme disease bacterium (B. burgdorferi)
are white-footed mice. Approximately 50% of the ticks pick up the
bacteria by feeding on infected mice, according to researchers.
One study, which involved spreading kibbles (containing the vaccine)
across 22 yards in Connecticut, found that 90% of the ticks were eating
it. One researcher stated, “I think [the vaccine] will be a valuable
tool in the tick management box.”
But there are concerns: Shrews, chipmunks and birds also carry Lyme bacteria and can transfer them to ticks. This vaccine targets white-footed mice.
And tick control is not managed by county or state health officials (unlike mosquito control). It is up to individuals.
"Even if the mouse vaccine works spectacularly, it will hardly make a
difference unless there is a concerted effort to deploy it," says Marm
Kilpatrick, a disease ecologist at the University of California, Santa
Cruz, who has not worked on the vaccine.
