BEMIDJI, Minn. - Melissa Kemperman of the Minnesota Department of Health will describe deer ticks and the threats they carry to state citizens when she presents an April 20 program at 3 p.m. in the Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation (CRI), located at 3801 Bemidji Avenue North.
Part of the Bemidji Area Natural Resources Continuing Education Consortium series, the 60-minute session is open to the public at no charge.
During the program, Kemperman will focus on the blacklegged tick, commonly called the deer tick. An infectious disease epidemiologist, she will cover the natural history of blacklegged ticks, the diseases they carry, prevention measures, and preliminary findings of Minnesota Department of Health field studies.
Deer ticks are the carriers of Lyme disease, which has seen dramatic increases in the state. From 1986 to 2007, slightly more than 10,000 cases of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases were reported in Minnesota, including a record 1,239 cases of Lyme disease in 2007. Exposure to deer ticks and Lyme disease occurs primarily from mid-May to mid-July when nymphal ticks are feeding.
Kemperman noted that the program will benefit resources managers as well as individuals wishing to learn which habitats present the greatest risk and the best methods of personal protection.
?The incidence of tick-borne diseases has risen dramatically in recent years, and increasing numbers of patients have reported being exposed to blacklegged ticks in western and northern Minnesota, including the Bemidji area,? she said. ?I hope those attending will learn how habitat, climate, and host animal composition affect the abundance and infection rate of deer ticks and, in turn, people?s risk of contracting the diseases these ticks carry.?
In addition to Lyme disease, deer ticks also carry the pathogens that cause two lesser-known but serious diseases, human anaplasmosis and babesiosis.
Kemperman has worked in the food-borne, vector-borne and zoonotic diseases unit of the Minnesota Department of Health since 2003. She specializes in the epidemiology of diseases transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes, and her work includes monitoring patterns of human disease and conducting field surveys for ticks.
She received her undergraduate degree in biology from Macalester College in St. Paul and has a master of public health degree in epidemiology from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
The presentation is part of an on-going series of Bemidji Area Natural Resources Continuing Education Consortium programs. While covering topics of general interest, the sessions are designed for professionals working in the natural resource area and may be technical in nature.
Groups participating in organizing the consortium include the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Chippewa National Forest, Leech Lake Division of Resource Management, Ainsworth, and the Red Lake Reservation.
Formed in 1997, the Center for Research and Innovation is an off-campus facility operated by Bemidji State University to assist businesses, organizations and individuals in gaining new knowledge, achieving applied experience, and improving successes.
The CRI annually serves more than 2500 individuals and 400 businesses by providing corporate and custom training, delivering non-credit online learning, creating multimedia solutions, offering strategic organizational development, and coordinating regular informational programs in such areas as natural resources and work safety.
Individuals who wish to be added to the Bemidji Area Natural Resources Continuing Education Consortium mailing list or have questions about this program should contact the Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation at (218) 755-4900; toll free, (888) 738-3224; email, cri@bemidjistate.edu; or at the Web site www.cri-bsu.org.