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Test that tick. East Stroudsburg University offering free tick testing for Lyme disease | TribLIVE.com
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Test that tick. East Stroudsburg University offering free tick testing for Lyme disease

Mary Ann Thomas
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Pixabay
A deer tick.

East Stroudsburg University’s tick research lab is accepting ticks for free testing from Pennsylvania residents.

The university lab, known as the Pennsylvania Tick Research Lab, will test ticks for Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, according to Brenda Friday, university spokeswoman.

“Tests are ordered online, and residents can learn whether they’re at risk before symptoms appear,” she said. Test results are provided within three business days of when the tick is received, according to Friday. Visit www.ticklab.org for more details.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a record increase in tick borne diseases from 2016 to 2017. In 2016, there were 48,610 cases of Lyme disease, anaplasmosis/ehrlichiosis, spotted fever rickettsiosis including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, babesiosis, tularemia and Powassan virus disease, the CDC said. In 2017, there were 59,349 cases — a 22 percent increase.

East Stroudsburg University has expanded its tick-testing services: The PA Tick Research Lab was made possible by $500,000 secured for the university from the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Human Services and presented by state Rep. Rosemary Brown last year, according to Friday.

In addition to the tick testing, funding for the lab also supported the development of a data analytic website (www.ticklab.org) that provides infection rates across the Commonwealth.

Prior to the development of the tick research lab, significant tick testing and research was underway at East Stroudsburg’s Northeast Wildlife DNA Laboratory (soon to be The Dr. Jane Huffman Wildlife Genetics Institute), which was created in 2005 through the work of Jane Huffman, Ph.D., former distinguished professor of biological sciences. The lab played a significant role in the creation of Pennsylvania’s Lyme Disease Task Force, established by then-Gov. Tom Corbett.

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Categories: Pennsylvania | Regional
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