Tick-borne Disease Risk along the Appalachian Trail
Abstract
Each year, 2-3 million visitors walk a portion of the Appalachian Trail, engaged in
outdoor activities where exposure to ticks is likely. While the trail passes through
the states with the greatest number of cases of Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted
Fever, it is unknown how many people become sick after visiting the trail. This paper
assesses tick-borne disease risk in the National Park Service (NPS) units located
along the Appalachian Trail, and finds that the disease risk is unknown, and likely
under recognized. It is recommended that tick sampling as part of a larger tick-borne
disease surveillance program be implemented in the national parks. As a starting
point to further study, general tick habitat suitability was modeled for the NPS units
along the Appalachian Trail based on land cover, elevation and moisture. Potential
tick sampling sites were selected based on areas of high tick habitat suitability
and high visitor use.
Type
Master's projectSubject
ticksLyme disease
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
disease modeling
Appalachian Trail
National Park Service
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/5223Citation
Shelus, Victoria (2012). Tick-borne Disease Risk along the Appalachian Trail. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/5223.Collections
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