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Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 55(4), 1996, pp. 410-416
Copyright © 1996 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Tick Avoidance Behaviors Associated with a Decreased Risk of Anti-Tick Salivary Gland Protein Antibody Seropositivity in Military Personnel Exposed to Amblyomma Americanum in Arkansas

Brian S. Schwartz, Jose L. Sanchez, Martin L. Sanders AND Robert F. DeFraites
Division of Occupational Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, and Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins University, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland; U.S. Army Medical Research Unit-Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Division of Preventive Medicine, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, District of Columbia

During April through September 1990, 399 military personnel who originated from either Fort Chaffee, Arkansas (n = 236) or Fort Wainwright, Alaska (n = 163) were studied during maneuvers in tick-infested areas at Fort Chaffee. Study subjects completed a questionnaire and had pre- and post-maneuvers serum specimens analyzed for antibodies to several rickettsial and ehrlichial agents and to Amblyomma americanum (lone star tick) salivary gland proteins (anti-tick saliva antibodies [ATSA], a biologic marker of tick exposure). Military rank/grade and home station were associated with pre-maneuvers ATSA seropositivity by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Fort Wainwright personnel were more likely to show at least a 50% increase in ATSA levels, compared with subjects from Fort Chaffee, from the pre- to the post-maneuvers specimen (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2–6.1). Subjects from Fort Wainwright who did not report use of bed netting were at an increased risk of post-maneuvers ATSA seropositivity (AOR = 4.1, 95% CI = 1.5–11.5). In contrast, subjects from Fort Chaffee who did not report tucking pants into socks were at increased risk of post-maneuvers ATSA seropositivity (AOR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.1–7.1). Subjects from Fort Chaffee who reported an attached tick bite during maneuvers were more likely to be ATSA-seropositive in the post-maneuvers specimen (AOR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.2–5.2). Western blot assays revealed large differences in tick salivary gland proteins that were recognized on the post-maneuvers specimen among three randomly selected individuals, and small differences within a single individual who reported a tick bite during maneuvers, comparing pre- and post-maneuvers specimens. The ATSA ELISA seropositivity was not associated with seroconversion to the tick-borne infectious agents.




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R. Malouin, P. Winch, E. Leontsini, G. Glass, D. Simon, E. B. Hayes, and B. S. Schwartz
Longitudinal Evaluation of an Educational Intervention for Preventing Tick Bites in an Area with Endemic Lyme Disease in Baltimore County, Maryland
Am. J. Epidemiol., June 1, 2003; 157(11): 1039 - 1051.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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Copyright © 1996 by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.