2008 Woodie Awards
URI receives $5,000 grant for tick research
Chris Curtis
Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: Campus
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11/01/07 - For years the University of Rhode Island's Center for Vector-Borne Disease has provided the state with quality research about the dangers of ticks and Lyme disease, and now the state is rewarding one of its divisions with a $5,000 grant.
The grant will help fund this division, the Tick Encounter Resource Center, and its ongoing efforts to spread awareness about the various forms of tick-borne disease.
Established in 2006 as the outreach component of the CVBD, the TERC aims to educate the public about the dangers presented by ticks, how best to prevent being bitten and the proper course of action should one be bitten. Focusing on people, their yards and their pets, the center hopes to combat the spread of infection through awareness programs and campaigns.
Transmitted by deer ticks, Lyme disease is characterized by a headache, rash, aching joints and fever. While the disease is easily treatable with antibiotics and is not typically fatal, it can have serious complications.
CVBD Director Thomas Mather, also known as the "tick guy," recalled one such rare case.
"One young fellow, when he contracted it, I think he was like 11, and he's blind," Mather said. "Lyme disease caused an unusual swelling around his optic nerve that pinched off the [blood] supply and left him without sight."
Lyme disease is not the only potential danger presented by deer ticks. While it is the most common and well known of the infections, cases of humans infected with the rarer and potentially more dangerous babesiosis and anaplasmosis have also been reported in the state.
Funding for the research portion of the CVBD is provided largely by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, both federal agencies. The remainder of the center's budgetary needs, such as those represented by the TERC, are fulfilled mainly through smaller grants and donations. It is here that the $5,000 state grant comes in.
The grant will help fund this division, the Tick Encounter Resource Center, and its ongoing efforts to spread awareness about the various forms of tick-borne disease.
Established in 2006 as the outreach component of the CVBD, the TERC aims to educate the public about the dangers presented by ticks, how best to prevent being bitten and the proper course of action should one be bitten. Focusing on people, their yards and their pets, the center hopes to combat the spread of infection through awareness programs and campaigns.
Transmitted by deer ticks, Lyme disease is characterized by a headache, rash, aching joints and fever. While the disease is easily treatable with antibiotics and is not typically fatal, it can have serious complications.
CVBD Director Thomas Mather, also known as the "tick guy," recalled one such rare case.
"One young fellow, when he contracted it, I think he was like 11, and he's blind," Mather said. "Lyme disease caused an unusual swelling around his optic nerve that pinched off the [blood] supply and left him without sight."
Lyme disease is not the only potential danger presented by deer ticks. While it is the most common and well known of the infections, cases of humans infected with the rarer and potentially more dangerous babesiosis and anaplasmosis have also been reported in the state.
Funding for the research portion of the CVBD is provided largely by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, both federal agencies. The remainder of the center's budgetary needs, such as those represented by the TERC, are fulfilled mainly through smaller grants and donations. It is here that the $5,000 state grant comes in.