20. Tick testing, active surveillance, and participatory science, with Dr. Vett Lloyd from Mount Allison University

This week, we are very excited to speak with one of Canada’s foremost tick and Lyme disease researchers, Dr. Vett Lloyd, who heads up a dynamic research team at Mount Allison University in Sackvillle, New Brunswick. Her curiosity, passion for community and collaboration and sense of humour have endeared her to her colleagues and her community.

Dr. Lloyd recalls her initiation into the world of Lyme disease when she removed a black legged tick from her shoulder after doing some gardening. She contacted her local public health department and was informed that there were no ticks in New Brunswick. She sent the tick to be tested, but when she followed up with public health, she was told that because there were no ticks in her area, they had disposed of it. Fortunately, Dr. Lloyd received advice from colleagues in western Canada and sought treatment for the symptoms of Lyme disease which followed the tick bite. It was after that personal encounter with Lyme disease that she shifted her research in molecular biology from cancer to studying ticks.

Although most of us cringe at the idea of receiving ticks in the mail, this is how Dr. Lloyd starts a typical day in her lab. She is currently working on a community science initiative in which people send ticks they find on themselves or preferably on pets or other animals. Her research team tests the ticks for various pathogens, a process which takes about two weeks. She notes the importance of ensuring ticks are dead before mailing them, and recommends placing them in the freezer for several days prior to shipping. For shipping, Dr. Lloyd also recommends placing the ticks in two containers, noting that the containers found in the CanLyme tick kits work well for that purpose. Dr. Lloyd requests information about the geographical location of the tick collection and an email address from the sender so that she and her team can notify the sender of the test results.

Read the full show notes and related resources