Are host control strategies effective to eradicate tick-borne diseases (TBD)?

Ticks are responsible for spreading harmful diseases including Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis. Understanding tick population dynamics and predicting risk of tick-borne disease insurgence helps to design preventive actions against the disease spread. Using a compartmental model describing the pathogen transmission among ticks and hosts, we study the influence of host-targeted tick control strategies with chemical insecticides on tick population and disease transmission dynamics. Our analysis shows that in areas with rapid-growing population of ticks, host-targeted controls using chemical insecticides may enhance disease persistence and even turn a disease-free area to a disease endemic area. Therefore, the complex dynamics of pathogen spread among ticks and hosts should be carefully examined when designing tick control strategies.