Haylee Stringer
Surveillance Assignment
PUBH 202
Public health trends are often able to be identified based off an increased and repetitive
pattern of occurrences of things such as disease, pollution, or comorbidities associated with
pests. As of right now, one of the emerging public health issues is the red-meat allergy
associated with Lone Star Tick bites. After receiving a bite, some individuals may experience
anaphylaxis. In addition to the effects of the bite, the overall number of cases of occurrences of
the tick bite has been rapidly increasing which leads to the belief that the tick could be on the
track to becoming an invasive species in some areas. A trend is certainly noticed in the fact that
the number of cases is increasing at an alarming rate, meaning that it is becoming more and more
of an issue within the population. A population can be forecasted to develop a public health
initiative by incorporating different methods of surveillance such as passive surveillance, active
surveillance, and sentinel surveillance (Youtube, 2017). Passive surveillance would allow for a
baseline of health data in the population to be established by having prior history of the
population’s overall health, as well as the trends that the population has previously experienced.
Active surveillance could be useful in forecasting a population to develop a public health
initiative by actively monitoring the public health status of the area as well as the individuals in
the area (Youtube, 2017). In addition to this, active surveillance could be useful by allowing for
various professionals to be made aware of the trends that could possibly arise such as the Lone
Star Tick bites leading to a red meat allergy. Sentinel surveillance could be useful if the Lone
Star Tick bites became a much more prominent issue in such areas allowing for mass amounts of
data to be obtained from selected institutions and groups (Youtube, 2017). The goals of such a
public health initiative aimed at reducing the prominence of red meat allergy associated with
Lone Star Ticks would involve first attempting to identify why the tick is causing such an illness.
In addition to this, another step of the initiative would be attempting to stop the ticks from biting
or going untreated since the issue is becoming more known. This would be able to be achieved
by educating the populations most at risk for encountering a Lone Star Tick, as well as what to
do if you do encounter one or are bitten by one. Overall, the goals would be reducing the rates of
red meat allergy caused by the tick bites, as well as reducing the number of bites that are
occurring.
After reading the article on the increasing population of Lone Star ticks, the main
population at risk is the Eastern United States (Infection Disease Advisor, 2022). To achieve the
broadest reach, it would be best to align with agencies that specialize in species that are
becoming more invasive, since the tick has the chance to become an invasive species due to its
rapidly increasing population. Such agencies that would be good to align with would include the
Governor’s Invasive Species Council (Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, n.d.) in various
eastern U.S. states, as well as the USDA Forest Service (USDA, n.d.). Since both services are
equipped with dealing with species that threaten populations due to their invasiveness, it would
be best if they were alerted and involved. In addition to this, public health agencies in such areas
should be made aware of what is occurring to properly educate the population of the area on the
possible effects of having such a tick bite.
Annotated Bibliography
Governor’s Invasive Species Council. Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. (n.d.).
https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/PlantIndustry/GISC/Pages/default.asp
x#:~:text=The%20Governor’s%20Invasive%20Species%20Council,and%20the%20industr
ies%20they%20support.
The source reveals information on the various public health initiatives that are in place in
Pennsylvania to combat the threat of invasive species. In addition to this, the source
includes plans on how to reduce the impact of invasive species on different levels such as
ecologically, economically, and the impact on human health.
Invasive species. USDA. (n.d.). https://www.usda.gov/topics/invasivespecies#:~:text=The%20USDA%20Forest%20Service%20is,aquatic%20and%20terrestrial
%20invasive%20species.
The source above features various USDA roles in controlling invasiveness of species and
how to manage them. The source also gives away additional organizations that each role
collaborates with to promote a healthier environment while reducing the overall population
of invasive species.
Tick-caused meat allergy on the rise in the United States. Infectious Disease Advisor. (2022,
September 19). https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com/home/topics/vector-borneillnesses/tick-caused-meat-allergy-on-the-rise-in-the-united-states/
The article gives information about the increasing prevalence of ticks in the United States,
primarily in the eastern area of the United States. In addition to this, the source reveals the
increasing problem of how those affected by tick bites are beginning to develop allergies.
YouTube. (2017, May 21). An introduction to surveillance - the eyes and ears of public health.
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IpE8dE4cVc
The video gives different methods of surveillance and how it can be useful or obtained in
terms of public health. In addition to this, the video details what some types of
surveillance cover and how the information is obtained such as by monitoring health
information of the populations and studying various public health trends.