The research team is then able to identify it within 24 hours. ![]() She said users are also able to take a picture of a tick and submit it to the app. “We really wanted to understand, if possible, when and where and what kind of activities people are doing to expose themselves to ticks,” Tsao said. ![]() When people download it, they’re prompted to fill out a 10-minute survey about potential risk factors. “It’s a mobile health app that is both a research tool as well as an outreach tool,” she said. She is in the Department of Fisheries & Wildlife and is part of the group that helped develop the digital portal. Michigan State University professor Jean Tsao said the app allows scientists to learn more about where ticks are and what people are doing to keep safe from them. decided to create a mobile app, simply called The Tick App. “We’ve certainly seen changes in the distribution of several species of ticks moving northward over the years as temperatures have become warmer,” OConnor said.Īccording to the state, average yearly temperatures have increased 2 to 3 degrees in the past two decades.īecause of growing concerns about the pests, both in Michigan and across the country, a group of researchers from universities across the U.S. He cites a rise in temperatures as a possible reason for the increased risk. “Especially in the warmer months of April through September, but sometimes into October as well because ticks can be active when the temperatures are above 40 degrees Fahrenheit.”īarry OConnor is a tick expert at the University of Michigan’s Zoology Museum. “The most important thing to be aware of is where ticks are, so ticks like shady, moist areas in woody, grassy locations,” she said. Ticks are typically found in wooded and brushy areas but can even show up in suburban yards. In 2021, the state health department reported nearly half of Michigan’s counties had a known risk of Lyme disease for people and animals. That is the tick that can transmit Lyme disease,” Dinh said. “That blacklegged tick is something that we’re concerned about and seeing a greater distribution throughout the state of Michigan. ![]() That’s as the state’s tick population has been on the rise, including numbers of the American dog tick and the blacklegged tick, which can transmit the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. A new mobile app may help figure that out.Įmily Dinh, a medical entomologist with the Department of Health and Human Services, says encounters people are having with ticks are becoming more common. You head home, but the next day notice a black speck on your arm.īeyond the gross-out factor, you wonder if it might make you sick. ![]() LANSING – Picture this: You’re walking through the woods when you brush up against some tall grass, or maybe you wandered off trail momentarily. Spartan Newsroom - News and information from student journalists at the Michigan State University School of Journalism About the Michigan State University School of Journalism.MSU School of Journalism Code of Ethics.MSU journalism COVID-related reporting guidelines.Michigan Chile Investigative Journalism Program.
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