<p>As tick-borne diseases continue to be a source of growing public health concern on the Vineyard, a panel discussion convenes Wednesday to discuss a potential new approach to curbing Lyme and other infections.</p>
As tick-borne diseases continue to be a source of growing public health concern on the Vineyard, a panel discussion convenes this week to discuss a potential new approach to curbing Lyme disease and other infections carried by ticks.
The discussion will be held at 1 p.m. on Wednesday at the Edgartown library, and is free and open to the public.
Panelists include Prof. Kevin Esvelt from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Sam Telford, a professor at Tufts who has been involved in the study of tick diseases for decades, and Dr. Michael Jacobs, an internist who has practiced medicine on the Vineyard for decades and who founded a Vineyard Haven clinic now involved in medical research on Lyme and other tick-borne infections.
Led by Dr. Esvelt, scientists at the MIT are working on a long-term project to possibly introduce white-footed mice that have been genetically altered to contain immunity to Lyme disease. Scientists involved in the study believe that if large numbers of the mice were released, they could spread the immunity to the native mouse population, breaking the cycle of disease transmission.
The study is still in the early stages.
A similar project is being proposed on Nantucket.
Panelists will discuss the new proposal, technology, community safeguards and timeline. A question-and-answer period will be included.
“Science typically lacks transparency, but given the increasing power of technology to unilaterally alter the shared environment, a new, open, community-driven model is both morally and practically imperative,” a press release about the talk said.
Comments
For such an important issue
Susan Puciul ChilmarkFor such an important issue that has impacted the lives of so very many Vineyarders
I would have hoped this discussion had been scheduled at a time that wasn't in
the middle of the working day for so many or in the middle of a beach day for our guests.
Will there be a video available to those who could not attend?
MVTV recorded the event and
Joanna Buchthal ChilmarkMVTV recorded the event and will post a video online within a week on their website: http://www.mvtv.org/video-on-demand-castus/
As I understand things, mice
Dick AquinnahAs I understand things, mice are not susceptible to Lyme disease. So how does the provided immunity give them an advantage over their non-immune cousins? How does the immune population gain dominance?
According to the speaker, the
islgrlAccording to the speaker, the mice are able to pass the disease to uninfected ticks. If they developed immunity then they would not be a host that could infect other ticks.
The deer are not susceptible
Dan ObThe deer are not susceptible to Lyme. It's the mice that harbor the disease and pass it to the ticks, typically during the ticks first feeding in the spring.
We try to keep Gmo's out of
Bill West. TisburyWe try to keep Gmo's out of our food , now a scientist wants to introduce Gmo genes into the wildlife of the island , to prevent a disease created by scientist in a lab. The island is not a labratory!!
Educate yourself before
John W TisburyBill, educate yourself before writing. He's seeking community input before doing anything, and not planning to introduce "GMO genes." Lyme, BTW, was around long before any scientists were capable of "creating a disease."
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