This spring and summer, the Vineyard Haven Public Library will be presenting a series of talks on ticks and tick-borne illnesses, especially Lyme disease.
On Tuesday, May 22, at 7 pm, the library hosts “Ticks and Tick-Borne Illnesses on Martha’s Vineyard: What Every Island Resident and Visitor Should Know.” Discussion will center on the most dangerous species of ticks, tick-borne illnesses and their symptoms, what to do if bitten, and how to make your yard safer. The event will also include an update on the Island-wide effort to reduce tick-borne illnesses sponsored by the boards of health of the six Island towns.
Panelists will include Sam Telford, professor of infectious disease, at Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine; Michael Jacobs, M.D., a local physician; Matt Poole, Edgartown health agent; and Dick Johnson, from the MV Tick-Borne Illness Prevention Initiative.
On Tuesday, June 19, at 7 pm, students from the AP science program at MVRHS will talk about their testing of deer ticks for infection. The students are also preparing a pamphlet with information about ticks and tick-borne illnesses.
A third program on Wednesday, July 12, at 7 pm at Katharine Cornell Theater is focused on the Martha’s Vineyard Mouse Initiative. White-footed mice carry the pathogen that causes Lyme disease. The MV Mouse Initiative is a program led by Keven Esvelt of MIT and sponsored by the boards of health of the Island towns to create mice that are genetically engineered to break the cycle of transmission. This project is in the early research phase, and no plans have been made create such mice. The panel includes Ruth Faden, Ph.D., M.P.H., founder of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics; Kevin Esvelt, Ph.D., director of the Sculpting Evolution group, Telford; and Sheila Jasanof, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Harvard Kennedy School.