Vaccinating wildlife can reduce human risk for Lyme disease

December 15, 2004
Source: Yale
Original story - link verified on December 15, 2004

Direct field evidence shows that Lyme disease in humans can be prevented by vaccinating wildlife, researchers in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale School of Medicine report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In a four-year study of isolated woodlands near New Haven, nearly 1,000 white-footed mice were trapped and either vaccinated against Lyme disease or given a placebo. Fewer deer ticks tested positive for Lyme disease in the experimental plots where mice had been vaccinated. Fewer ticks carrying infection reduced the risk for humans getting Lyme disease from a tick bite.

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