“UPDATE ON TICK BORNE DISEASES IN THE EASTERN U.S.”  UT ARBORETUM SOCIETY VIRTUAL PROGRAM, TUESDAY, JULY 18

Anyone who spends time outdoors needs to be aware of diseases that can be transmitted by ticks. Because ticks are so small, people might not even notice when they’ve been bitten by one. Dr. Richard Gerhold will give an update on tick abundance and prevalence, the spread of the Asian long horned ticks and diseases associated with ticks.

 This Zoom program on Tuesday, July 18 at 7:00 p.m. EDT, is free but please register to receive your Zoom link and the recording  at www.utarboretumsociety.org .  Closed captioning is available. Please contact Michelle Campanis at mcampani@utk.edu with any questions or registration issues. This program is cosponsored by the UT Arboretum Society and the Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning.

            Dr. Gerhold, an associate professor of parasitology in the Department of Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine at University of Tennessee, will also discuss the various pathogens that can be transmitted, their geographical and temporal variations, diagnostics tests and prevention. His research interests include wildlife and public health associated parasite epidemiology and transmission, protozoa transmission and ecology, avian diseases, and tick-borne diseases. Following completion of his PhD from the University of Georgia, he completed a two year National Science Foundation-funded post-doctoral fellowship at the Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries Department at the University of Tennessee researching Lyme disease and tick-borne diseases Tennessee.

The Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center which celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2014, is one of ten outdoor laboratories located throughout the state as part of the UT AgResearch system. AgResearch is a division of the UT Institute of Agriculture. The Institute of Agriculture also provides instruction, research and public service through the UT Herbert College of Agriculture, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension offices, with locations in every county in the state.

To learn more about the Arboretum Society or for questions on this program, go to www.utarboretumsociety.org