VIDEO: State funds further local Lyme disease research

Jill Auerbach got Lyme disease 30 years ago, and like many with the tick-borne disease, she was not immediately diagnosed.

But this isn’t a surprise to the 72-year-old chairwoman of the Hudson Valley Lyme Disease Association. Though Lyme disease was discovered four decades ago in Lyme, Connecticut, substantial strides have not been made to combat and treat this crippling disease, Auerbach said.

“Here we are, 40 years from that time, and the plight of patients hasn’t changed, we don’t have a definitive test at all, and there’s no known cure,” Auerbach said. “The problem is our environment. It’s the ticks, and that’s where it’s really got to be addressed.”

The tie between environment and Lyme disease is being researched here in the Hudson Valley, said Dr. Richard Ostfeld, lead scientist at the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies. That effort will continue with funding secured by state Sen. Sue Serino, R-Hyde Park, he said. The $90,000 given to the institute is part of a larger $600,000 fund that has been distributed throughout the state for Lyme disease research.

Ostfeld said the Millbrook-based institute’s 23-plus years of research shows the risk for Lyme disease and tick-bourne diseases is closely associated with population abundance of white footed mice, fragmentation of the forest habitat, loss of animal diversity in predators, and production of acorns from oak trees.

The institute also has researched a vaccine targeted at white footed mice that renders them immune to infection by the Lyme disease pathogen, which “seem to be an important element” to protecting human health, Ostfeld said.

“With funds from New York state, the taxpayers, and Sen. Serino’s committee to continue this long term research, we’re very interested in continuing to search aggressively for vulnerabilities in the life cycle of the tick, and stages and periods of the year that that can be attacked to reduce tick abundance,” Ostfeld said.

The funds will also be used to help leverage “ambitious” projects, including “an integrated tick management program” in the Hudson Valley, to effectively reduce tick numbers and human exposure to ticks, Ostfeld said.

Serino and Ostfeld recognized the importance of remaining vigilant in the fight against Lyme disease even during the fall months, and expressed the importance of checking yourself for the larger, but still potentially infected, ticks.

“Even though the riskiest time of year for us, in terms of exposure to tick-bourne disease, is the spring and summer when the nymph stage and the primary culprit is active, here in the fall we are not safe,” Ostfeld said. “The adult stage in the tick is active and peaking. The good news is that this is a bigger stage, they’re about the size of a sesame seed, so they’re easier to see and feel and find.”

Serino also announced the relaunching of lymeactioncenter.com, where those impacted with Lyme disease and tick-bourne illnesses can find resources and tips, as well as share their stories of living with the disease.

Abbott Brant: abrant@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4809; Twitter: @AbbottBrantPoJo