Got ticks? The Marshfield Clinic wants them for research
Don't stomp it. Don't squish it. Don't flush it. The Marshfield Clinic wants that tick.
Specifically, the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute wants not only that tick, but any others people find across Wisconsin. The Institute, the largest private medical research organization in the state, is asking people to submit ticks for a project it's calling Tick Inventory via Citizen Science. The effort will study the distribution of ticks to determine the extent that new and invasive ticks are moving into Wisconsin.
The study also will determine if the ticks are carrying pathogens that cause illnesses such as Lyme disease and anaplasmosis, bacterial infections that cause fever, headaches and fatigue, and babesiosis, an infection of red blood cells by microscopic parasites, which can cause flu-like symptoms.
Researchers say the study is connected to long-term warming trends associated with climate change.
"Ticks are moving into new areas as the environment changes," said Alexandra Linz, an associate research scientist at the Institute. "This is an opportunity for Wisconsinites to act as citizen scientists and help us learn about ticks and their diseases, which can potentially help us better inform on disease prevention and early detection as well as develop improved diagnostic tools and treatments."
The project is only the most recent effort on the part of the Institute to study the bloodsucking arachnids and their impact on human health, said Jen Meece, the chief research officer for the Marshfield Clinic Health System. Other research efforts have included working to improve diagnostic test evaluations, examining post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome and an evaluation of occupational risks for tick-borne diseases.
"This really fits into a hot spot of highly endemic diseases," Meece said.
The study will help researchers know more about what's happening with ticks in the state, Meece said, but it also will help the general public learn more about tick-borne sickness and its prevention. Participants in the study will be able to look up, via an online dashboard, the species of the ticks they contributed and see the areas in the state from which they came.
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How you can participate in Marshfield Clinic's tick study
In order to take part in the study, people can place any ticks, dead or alive, in a collection kit and send it by mail to the institute. Postage on the kits are prepaid. Collection kits are available now at the George W. Mead Wildlife Area's visitor and education center, S2148 Marathon County S in Milladore; Castlerock Veterinary Hospital, 1214 S. Oak Ave. in Marshfield; and Rib Mountain State Park, 149801 State Park Road in Rib Mountain. People can also request a kit or get more information by calling 715-389-7796 Ext. 16462 or by emailing tics@marshfieldclinic.org.
The study will expand through the summer to other parts of the state, with collection kits available at more parks, hiking trails and veterinary clinics.
RELATED:Here's what you should know about Lyme, Anaplasmosis, other diseases ticks spread
Keith Uhlig is a regional features reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin based in Wausau. Contact him at 715-845-0651 or kuhlig@gannett.com. Follow him at @UhligK on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram or on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Marshfield Clinic tick study wants you to send in your ticks
