Vector-Borne Diseases

Bobbi Pritt, M.D., Director of the Clinical Parasitology Lab and Co-Director of Vector-Borne Diseases Lab Services in Mayo Clinic’s Department of Lab Medicine and Pathology, recently spoke with the Post-Bulletin about Lyme disease and West Nile virus and how to avoid them this summer.

The "Mpls-St Paul" magazine article highlights Bobbi Pritt, M.D., Director of the Clinical Parasitology Lab and Co-Director of Vector-Borne Diseases Lab Services in Mayo Clinic’s Department of Lab Medicine and Pathology, and her research on ticks and parasites.

Bobbi Pritt, M.D., spends her work hours identifying and diagnosing infectious diseases. In her free time, she celebrates their beauty by creating bug-related artwork and blogging about parasites.

On the June 2 broadcast of Mayo Clinic Radio, co-hosts Tracy McCray and Tom Shives, M.D., spoke with Bobbi Pritt, M.D., Director of the Mayo Clinic Clinical Parasitology Lab, about common tick-borne diseases and how to prevent them.

In this Mayo Clinic Radio "Health Minute," Bobbi Pritt, M.D., Director of the Clinical Parasitology Lab and Co-Director of Vector-Borne Diseases Lab Services at Mayo Clinic, explains how the lone star tick's bite can cause an allergic reaction to meat.

It's time to start preparing for what could be a bumper crop of ticks across the U.S. As the last of the winter's snow melts, ticks start coming up from under the grass looking for a blood meal. In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Bobbi Pritt, a Mayo Clinic parasitic diseases expert, explains an easy trick to remember the best ways to protect yourself from tick bites.

Illnesses caused by disease-infected ticks, mosquitoes, and fleas have tripled in the U.S. in recent years, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lyme disease is the most common illness attributed to ticks.

Bobbi Pritt, M.D., Director of the Clinical Parasitology Lab and Co-Director of Vector-Borne Diseases Lab Services in Mayo Clinic’s Department of Lab Medicine and Pathology, discusses a unique story with Outbreak News about a man, who claimed he ate sushi daily, who presented to his doctor a 5½ foot-long tapeworm. Listen to the podcast.

The Rochester Post-Bulletin recently highlighted Bobbi Pritt, M.D.'s, “Creepy, Dreadful, Wonderful Parasites” blog, which celebrated its 10-year anniversary in October with a parasite-themed art contest and giveaways.

Mayo Clinic and the University of Notre Dame’s Eck Institute for Global Health have launched a four-tiered joint project to better characterize and further assist in the detection of vector-borne infectious diseases in Belize.

Bobbi Pritt, M.D., Director of the Clinical Parasitology Laboratory and Co-Director of Mayo’s Vector-Borne Diseases Laboratory Services, co-authored an article review in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology on an update on malaria diagnostics and test utilization.

The algorithm can be viewed here.

In the United States, Lyme disease is caused by "Borrelia burgdorferi" and "Borrelia mayonii" bacteria, carried primarily by "black-legged" or "deer ticks." To learn more about Lyme disease, the Mayo Clinic Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and its reference laboratory Mayo Medical Laboratories have developed “The ABCs of Lyme Disease” flash cards.