Photos and Videos
More Photos and Videos
Magic Tick Spit Could Prevent Lyme Disease
Yale scientists found tick spit has powers
AP
Who would have thought ticks could even spit?
advertisement
The answer to a finding a vaccine against Lyme disease might be found in, of all things, tick spit.
Researchers at Yale have discovered a protein in tick saliva that has helped to prevent mice from developing the mysterious and often debilitating disease.
The findings are published in Thursday's issue of Cell Host & Microbe.
Yale scientists say instead of the usual method of using the bacterium that causes disease to produce a vaccine, they targeted antibodies in the protein of the tick's saliva, which can give immunity to Lyme disease.
Beyond Lyme disease, researchers say this breakthrough could have applications for other diseases as well.
"Currently, we are working to determine if this strategy is likely to be important for West Nile virus infection, dengue fever and malaria, among other diseases," lead Yale author Erol Fikrig, M.D. told the publication.
Incidentally, Lyme disease gets its name from the town of Lyme, where the disease was first identified in this country in 1975, according to the Directors of Health Promotion and Education.
Top Stories
The NBC Connecticut Jim Calhoun Cancer Challenge Ride and Walk is on Saturday, June 9 in Simsbury.
Check Out
© 2012 NBCUniversal, Inc. All rights reserved.
Portions by Broadcast Interactive Media.
A Division of NBCUniversal