San Mateo County: Lyme Disease Surveillance Winter/Spring 2005-06

Entomology Report June 2006, San Mateo County Mosquito Abatement District

This year over 1000 ticks were tested for the Lyme disease bacteria (twice the numbertested in previous years). The increase was due to assistance provided by District mosquito control technicians and staff from other agencies (County Health, County Parks, Public Utilities, and State Parks). The extra man power allowed for more extensive surveillance at sites throughout the county. Prevalence of infection averaged between 1% to 3%, which is consistent with data from previous years. However, the density of ticks varied greatly between parks and between trails within each park.

Park                    # Infected ticks (%)  # ticks / 100 ft
Big Canyon, San Carlos            9/504 (2%)         2.8
Crystal Springs Trail, Millbrae   5/172 (3%)         3.6
Edgewood Pk, Redwood City         0/ 87 (0%)        18.6
Huddart Pk, Woodside              3/ 98 (3%)         3.3
San Pedro Valley Pk, Pacifica     3/286 (1%)         4.7

Previous related entries:

San Mateo County: Lyme Disease Surveillance Winter/Spring 2005-06, April 2006
San Mateo County: Lyme Disease Surveillance Winter/Spring 2005-06, March 2006
San Mateo County: Lyme Disease Surveillance 2006, February 2006
San Mateo County: Lyme Disease Surveillance 2006, January 2006
San Mateo County: Lyme Disease Surveillance, November/December 2005
San Mateo County: Lyme Disease Surveillance, October 2005
San Mateo County: Lyme Disease Surveillance, January 2005