The Biology and Disease Burden of Ticks in Manitoba

Ticks are the most important vectors of human diseases in Manitoba, with two endemic species responsible for most of the public health burden: Black-legged (Deer) Ticks and American Dog (Wood) Ticks. This presentation will cover aspects of their biology, including their life cycle, unique sensory organs, and feeding behaviours. The different diseases caused by these tick species, as well as emerging diseases and invasive species to the province will be detailed. Finally, tick bite prevention and treatment options will be discussed.

Bryan Cassone is a professor in the Department of Biology at Brandon University. He earned a BSc at Western University, MSc at University of Guelph, and PhD at University of Notre Dame. His research bridges entomology and pathology, with interests in tick and mosquito disease transmission, plastic biodegradation, and disease diagnostic development.

Participation: This is a hybrid event! Feel free to come in person to meet Bryan and see the talk, or join us via Zoom. To join us via Zoom, please complete and submit this short form ( https://forms.gle/6bTwpnpdKPJH4Vtt7) to sign-up. We will email out the Zoom link the evening of the talk.

Location: Brodie Building Rm 4-34, Brandon University & Online (directions: https://westman-naturalists.github.io/talks.html)

You may also like the following events from Westman Naturalists:

• Next month, 15th May, 07:00 pm, Duck Identification in Brandon

Also check out other Health & Wellness events in Brandon.