Evaluation of the United States Department Of Agriculture Northeast Area-wide Tick Control Project by meta-analysis.
As part of the Northeast Area-wide Tick Control Project (NEATCP), meta-analyses were performed using pooled data on the extent of tick-vector control achieved through seven concurrent studies, conducted within five states, using U.S. Department of Agriculture "4-Poster" devices to deliver targeted-acaricide to white-tailed deer. Although reductions in the abundance of all life-stages of Ixodes scapularis were the measured outcomes, this study focused on metrics associated with I. scapularis nymphal tick densities as this measure has consistently proven to directly correlate with human risk of acquiring Lyme disease. Since independent tick sampling schemes were undertaken at each of the five environmentally distinct study locations, a meta-analytic approach permitted estimation of a single true control-effect size for each treatment year of the NEATCP. The control-effect is expressed as the annual percent I. scapularis nymphal control most consistent with meta-analysis data for each treatment year. Our meta-analyses indicate that by the sixth treatment year, the NEATCP effectively reduced the relative density of I. scapularis nymphs by 71% on the 5.14 km(2) treatment sites, corresponding to a 71% lower relative entomologic risk index for acquiring Lyme disease.
Brei
Brandon
B
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Brownstein
John S
JS
George
John E
JE
Pound
J Mathews
JM
Miller
J Allen
JA
Daniels
Thomas J
TJ
Falco
Richard C
RC
Stafford
Kirby C
KC
Schulze
Terry L
TL
Mather
Thomas N
TN
Carroll
John F
JF
Fish
Durland
D
D056810:Acaricides / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000592:standards; D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors; D003670:Deer / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000517:prevention & control; D008873:Mid-Atlantic Region; D009511:New England; D012621:Seasons; D013983:Tick Control / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D013987:Ticks / Q000254:growth & development*; D014481:United States; D016885:United States Department of Agriculture
D056810:Acaricides