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Oral Presentation
Oral Presentation
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Poster Display
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Ticketed Event

Section Symposium

Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology

Poster Display

Born to Be Wild: Investigating Wildlife-Arthropod Vector Interactions in a One Health Context

Bite-sized evidence: Tick bite exposure assay to detect previous Dermacentor tick infestation in Peromyscus mice

Tuesday, November 11, 2025
10:15 AM - 10:20 AM Pacific
Location: Oregon Convention Center, Portland Ballroom 255, OCC
Poster Display
Peromyscus mice (deer mice) are important hosts of Dermacentor ticks and are known to serve as reservoirs for several pathogens of medical and veterinary importance. Understanding interactions between these ticks and hosts can help to manage tickborne pathogens and disease risk across a landscape. Current field investigations depend upon narrow seasons during which ticks actively feed as well as narrow windows during which ticks may be attached (5-7 days for Dermacentor ticks). These studies may miss out on broader questions, are seasonally-biased, and miss tick-host interactions outside the slim investigation window. Using Dermacentor tick salivary gland proteins as a substrate antigen, we developed an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to determine tick bite exposure using Peromyscus sera. Absorbance readings from colorimetric HRP (horseradish peroxidase) labelled anti-mouse goat antibodies allows quantification of tick bite exposure in the host. This ELISA can be used to determine tick-host interactions in wild Peromyscus populations without directly observing blood-feeding ticks. This detection tool will allow broader investigations into tick-host interactions that may uncover novel feeding periods, novel hosts, new host populations, and even tick-avoidant individuals, potentially opening new avenues for landscape-wide disease management.