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Estimating Infected Blacklegged Tick Encounters Among Outdoor Workers in Minnesota.

Jacob Cassens¹, Scott Larson², Kristofer Keller³

¹Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA. casse090@umn.edu.

|September 19, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Outdoor workers face a high risk of tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease. This study found that occupational behaviors and demographics influence exposure to infected ticks, highlighting the need for better prevention strategies for these essential workers.

Keywords:

Borrelia burgdorferi Ixodes scapularis anaplasma phagocytophilum blacklegged ticks disease risk occupational health tick-borne pathogen

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Area of Science:

Environmental Health
Epidemiology
Vector-borne Diseases

Background:

Outdoor workers are disproportionately exposed to tick-borne pathogens.
Understanding the interplay between occupational risks, worker behavior, and tick exposure is crucial for disease prevention.
Existing research inadequately addresses how specific job-related factors influence encounters with infected ticks.

Purpose of the Study:

To assess the influence of occupational behaviors, demographics, and prevention knowledge on exposure to infected ticks among outdoor workers.
To integrate active tick surveillance with worker-reported data for a comprehensive risk assessment.
To determine the prevalence and density of Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in blacklegged ticks in Minnesota.

Main Methods:

Active surveillance for blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) in three Minnesota counties from May to July 2023-2024.
Molecular testing of collected ticks for Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum.
Surveys of outdoor workers to gather data on occupational exposure, demographics, and tick prevention knowledge.

Main Results:

A total of 872 ticks were collected; 45.6% were infected with B. burgdorferi and 7.2% with A. phagocytophilum.
Peak infected tick densities were observed in Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area (0.80/100m²).
Worker surveys indicated a high probability of encountering infected ticks (5-65% for B. burgdorferi, 0-25% for A. phagocytophilum), with marginal associations with age and preventive behaviors.

Conclusions:

Outdoor workers have a significant occupational risk of encountering ticks infected with B. burgdorferi and A. phagocytophilum.
Demographic factors and preventive actions show a marginal association with exposure risk.
Elevated B. burgdorferi infection prevalence was noted in both adult (62.1%) and nymphal (36.5%) ticks in Minnesota.