Sep. 24—BEMIDJI — Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, part of the Marshfield Clinic region of Sanford Health, is expanding its Tick Inventory via Citizen Science program from Wisconsin to Minnesota.
Launched in 2024, the Tick Inventory program is an effort to identify ticks to assess the risk of encountering a tick-borne disease and to learn more about who is being exposed and diagnosed with tick-borne diseases, a release said.
According to the release, over 6,000 ticks from nearly every Wisconsin county were submitted in 2024. More than 5,400 have been identified so far this year. Ticks in the Midwest are typically active until temperatures drop below freezing in late fall.
Of the ticks collected this year, about 3,500, or more than 65%, were the American dog (wood) tick and the majority of the remainder were the deer (blacklegged) tick. Much of that difference is likely due to the larger wood ticks being easier to spot than the smaller deer ticks.
“We had overwhelming support from people who are curious and invested in helping better identify the health threats associated with ticks,” Jennifer Meece, PhD, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute executive director, said in the release. “With Marshfield Clinic now part of Sanford Health, and the widespread population of ticks throughout the Midwest, it was natural to expand our study into Minnesota.”
Tick collection kits are available in the lobby of the Sanford Bemidji Walk-In Clinic, 1611 Anne St. NW. No appointment is necessary to pick one up.
For more information, or to request a pre-paid collection kit be sent directly to you, contact
or
(715) 389-7796
ext. 16462. Parks and nature centers interested in having kits available for their visitors are also encouraged to contact Marshfield Clinic Research Institute.
Tick submissions from all over Minnesota are encouraged, regardless of whether the person is a Sanford Health or Marshfield Clinic patient.
Once the tick, dead or alive, has been placed in the collection kit, drop it in the mail to submit using the kits provided. Any tick found on people or pets is appreciated, the release said.
Each kit will come with a unique identification number that participants can use to look up, via an online dashboard, the species of ticks they submitted. Multiple ticks can be submitted, but identification of ticks is limited to 10 per kit.
The kit has additional optional survey questions, including the types of precautions the person is taking to avoid ticks, if they have ever been diagnosed with a tick-borne disease and if the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute can follow up with the person for potential future studies.
“With new tick species becoming more prevalent in Wisconsin and Minnesota, the risk for potential newly introduced diseases increases,” Daniel Hoody, MD, chief medical officer of Sanford Health Bemidji, said in the release. “By joining this effort, we are trying to determine the extent and significance of this spread and the potential health effects.”