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Why Missouri conservation officials are asking people to save ticks
The Missouri Department of Conservation and A.T. Still University in Kirksville have partnered in a two-year research study on ticks Author: Associated Press Updated: 8:07 PM CDT April 3, 2021
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. Missouri conservation officials are asking people to save the ticks they come across while tromping through the woods and toss them in the mail.
The Missouri Department of Conservation and A.T. Still University in Kirksville have partnered in a two-year research study. It begins this month and will conclude in September 2022, the Springfield News-Leader reports.
The goal is to better understand statewide distribution of tick species and the pathogens they carry. Some of the pathogens can make people sick.
As part of a two-year statewide effort to track ticks, scientists from A.T. Still University in Kirksville and the Missouri Department of Conservation are asking residents to mail in samples of the tiny parasites. The team plans to map the distribution of tick species on a county-by-county basis, along with their bacterial pathogens.