Effectiveness of Residential Acaricides to Prevent Lyme and Other Tick-borne Diseases in Humans. (5th January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hinckley, Alison F.; Meek, James I.; Ray, Julie A. E.; Niesobecki, Sara A.; Connally, Neeta P.; Feldman, Katherine A.; Jones, Erin H.; Backenson, P. Bryon; White, Jennifer L.; Lukacik, Gary; Kay, Ashley B.; Miranda, Wilson P.; Mead, Paul S.
• Is Part Of: Journal of infectious diseases. Volume 214:Number 2(2016:Jul. 15)
• Page Start: 182
• Page End: 188
• Publication Date: 2016-01-05
• Subjects: Lyme disease -- tick-borne diseases -- ticks -- prevention -- pesticide -- acaricide -- humans; Communicable diseases -- Periodicals; Diseases -- Causes and theories of causation -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Communicable Diseases -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 616.9
• DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiv775
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-1899

Abstract

Abstract: Background. In the northeastern United States, tick-borne diseases are a major public health concern. In controlled studies, a single springtime application of acaricide has been shown to kill 68%–100% of ticks. Although public health authorities recommend use of acaricides to control tick populations in yards, the effectiveness of these pesticides to prevent tick bites or human tick-borne diseases is unknown. Methods. We conducted a 2-year, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial among 2727 households in 3 northeastern states. Households received a single springtime barrier application of bifenthrin or water according to recommended practices. Tick drags were conducted 3–4 weeks after treatment on 10% of properties. Information on human–tick encounters and tick-borne diseases was collected through monthly surveys; reports of illness were validated by medical record review. Results. Although the abundance of questing ticks was significantly lower (63%) on acaricide-treated properties, there was no difference between treatment groups in human-tick encounters, self-reported tick-borne diseases, or medical-record-validated tick-borne diseases. Conclusions. Used as recommended, acaricide barrier sprays do not significantly reduce the household risk of tick exposure or incidence of tick-borne disease. Measures for preventing tick-borne diseases should be evaluated against human outcomes to confirm effectiveness.