WEST WHITELAND TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SERVICES COMMISSION

Transcription

1 WEST WHITELAND TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SERVICES COMMISSION Monthly Meeting Agenda Wednesday, May 2, 2018 at 6:30 p.m. Call to Order Pledge of Allegiance Public Comment Review of Minutes April 4, 2018 Announcements Open Discussion 1. Lyme Disease Prevention 2. Update on Sunoco Pipeline 3. Veterans Memorial Project 4. Clover Mill Road Sinkhole 5. PennDOT ITS Improvements What s Your Observation? A time for members to share items of importance to you or the community you live in. Adjournment

2 Lyme in Rural Pennsylvania What is Lyme Disease? How serious is Lyme in our part of the country? How does it spread? What can be done? We need a plan: Taking ACTION! Path forward. Discussion AOB

3 Borrelia burgdorferi. Spirochete form of Lyme What is Lyme? Deer tick Symptoms Lyme, The Great Imitator You or someone you know? Nervous System Musculoskeletal / Vision / Hearing Behavior Respiratory / Circulatory / Digestive

4 What is Lyme (cont.) Lyme is the fastest growing infectious illness in this country after AIDS, with a cost to society measured in the billions of dollars. It can be acquired by anyone who goes outdoors, very often goes undiagnosed for months, years, or forever in some patients, and can render a patient chronically ill and even totally disabled despite what this core group refers to as "adequate" therapy. There have been documented deaths; the cause, Lyme disease.

5 1999 Reported Lyme Disease Cases Per 100,000 Population (Incidence Rate) Pa. Reported Cases Incidence Rate (per 10,000) * Could be x10 or x TBD due to poor testing!

6 Data from CDC

7 Disease How Does Lyme Spread? Vector Primary Reservoir Secondary Reservoirs Victims

8 When Are They Active? Feeding Stages The nymphs, a juvenile stage, are about the size of a pepper flake. They are more likely than adult ticks to transmit Lyme disease to humans, says Hill. Their tiny size allows nymphs to feed longer without being detected, giving them enough time to pass the Lyme bacterium into their host's bloodstream.

9 Tick Life Cycle The life cycle requires 2 years to complete. Adult female ticks lay eggs on the ground in early spring. By summer, eggs hatch into larvae. Larvae feed on mice, other small mammals, deer, and birds in the late summer and early fall, molt into nymphs, and then are dormant (inactive) until the next spring. Nymphs feed on rodents, small mammals, birds and humans in the late spring and summer and molt into adults in the fall. In the fall and early spring, adult ticks feed and mate on large mammals (especially deer) and bite humans. The adult female ticks then drop off these animals and lay eggs in spring, completing a 2-year life cycle.

10 Why Deer Feeder Technology? While immature stages of I. scapularis feed upon a wide variety of vertebrate hosts, it is estimated that 95% of the female population feeds on deer. Exploitation of the dependent relationship of I. scapularis reproduction on white-tailed deer by preventing ticks from feeding on deer should result in a dramatic reduction in tick density for all stages and, consequently, an equally dramatic reduction in Lyme disease risk for humans.

11 Before the Deer Feeder Program

12 4 Poster Deer Feeder Technology Not only were the ears, heads, and necks free of ticks, but ticks were also absent from the briskets, axillae, and vents where some adult ticks usually attach. Apparently, acaricide is transferred to these areas when deer groom.

13 After (the following year)

14 Permithren Permethrin is a man-made insecticide, structurally similar to a naturally-occurring chemical called pyrethrum. Pyrethrum was initially derived from the crushed dried flowers of the daisy Chrysanthemum Permethrin works as a contact insecticide, damaging the nervous system of insects which come in contact with it, leading to either their death or "knockdown". One of the best things about permethrin is its length of effectiveness per application. Permethrin provides protection lasting up to two weeks before degrading due to exposure to sun light. Since permethrin is not intended for direct use on the skin, there are very few concerns about toxicity. Any permethrin that might inadvertently get on the skin, however, is very poorly absorbed (less than 2% of the applied dose). Permethrin is rapidly inactivated by skin and liver esterases, and its metabolites are then readily excreted by the kidneys. There is no evidence that permethrin accumulates in human tissues Studies have shown that permethrin is environmentally safe. Permethrin is degraded by sunlight, which limits its persistence in the environment. Its half-life is less than 30 days in soil, and the chemical is readily metabolized by soil microorganisms.

15 What Results Can We Expect? Connecticut study percent reduction of adult ticks (2% formamidine acaricide amitraz) Maryland and New Jersey site studies showed drops of 78 percent in numbers of immature ticks. (2% formamidine acaricide amitraz) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland study saw 98 percent control of nymphs and 100 percent control of adult ticks using the four-posters with 10% permethrin solution. The NASA study also showed by the 2nd yr of treatment reductions of immature tick stages on mice. During the 3rd yr of treatment, adult, nymphal, and larval questing ticks were reduced by % from sampled plots, and nymphal and larval ticks were reduced by 70-95% on sampled mice

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17 Test Project Bergen County, Westchester NY area, heavy development, some 50 acre parks. Chester County, Landenberg PA, 50 acre developments, 1000s of acres of parks / wooded areas

18 Feeders setup to treat deer in Parks. Distribution and Management of '4- Poster' Devices The '4-poster' devices will be deployed at a rate of 25 devices per Core Treatment Area (approximately 1 device for each 20.7 hectares or 51.2 acres) Feeders setup to treat deer coming into developments.

19 We Need a Plan Rollout: County based Township based Community based Individuals Data: Deer feeders cost ~ $500.* Corn, pesticide, labor ~ $60/mo./feeder Requires a LPA Follow up *less if purchased in large quantities The American Lyme Disease Foundation, Inc. in collaboration with the Dutchess County Department of Health and the Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY has received a grant of $300,000 for the first of a three year grant period from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to institute a community-based integrated management plan to significantly reduce reported cases of Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections within a target community.

20 The London Britain Township Approach Facilitated / coordinated by the Township Funding provided by private donation LADBV Township residence volunteers to maintain feeders on their own property Township will assist volunteers in feed and pesticide distribution, training and coordination Make use of township new letter to communication information and status Issues Cost, security, liability

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