Abstract
Most tickborne disease studies in the United States are conducted in low-intensity residential development and forested areas, leaving much unknown about urban infection risks. To understand Lyme disease risk in New York, New York, USA, we conducted tick surveys in 24 parks throughout all 5 boroughs and assessed how park connectivity and landscape composition contribute to Ixodes scapularis tick nymphal densities and Borrelia burgdorferi infection. We used circuit theory models to determine how parks differentially maintain landscape connectivity for white-tailed deer, the reproductive host for I. scapularis ticks. We found forested parks with vegetated buffers and increased connectivity had higher nymph densities, and the degree of park connectivity strongly determined B. burgdorferi nymphal infection prevalence. Our study challenges the perspective that tickborne disease risk is restricted to suburban and natural settings and emphasizes the need to understand how green space design affects vector and host communities in areas of emerging urban tickborne disease.
Highlights
Most tickborne disease studies in the United States are conducted in low-intensity residential development and forested areas, leaving much unknown about urban infection risks
Because of increasing incidence of locally acquired Lyme disease cases on Staten Island [6], a borough of New York City (NYC), and the potential for expansion to other boroughs, we sought to determine the hazard posed by I. scapularis ticks in public parks in NYC, and characterize the effect of landscape composition and connectivity in and around parks on nymphal I. scapularis tick densities and B. burgdorferi infection prevalence
We developed 1 model to examine the presence of I. scapularis ticks in parks across all NYC boroughs and 2 models with only Staten Island data to determine the best predictors of I. scapularis tick density and nymphal infection prevalence
Summary
Most tickborne disease studies in the United States are conducted in low-intensity residential development and forested areas, leaving much unknown about urban infection risks. As tickborne diseases spread into urban areas, key issues are what ecologic and sociobehavioral conditions enable establishment of the enzootic cycle and pathogen spillover to humans Landscape modification, such as forest fragmentation (breaking up of large continuous forests into smaller patches), has been linked to increased transmission risk for Lyme disease [9,10]. Because of increasing incidence of locally acquired Lyme disease cases on Staten Island [6], a borough of NYC, and the potential for expansion to other boroughs, we sought to determine the hazard posed by I. scapularis ticks in public parks in NYC, and characterize the effect of landscape composition and connectivity in and around parks on nymphal I. scapularis tick densities and B. burgdorferi infection prevalence
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