Stopping Lyme disease by vaccinating wild mice that infect ticks
Official title: Efficacy of novel reservoir-host targeted bait formulations against a tick-borne pathogen
Funded at University of Texas San Antonio · NIH-11160589 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests bait vaccines put out for wild mice to lower the number of infected ticks and reduce people's risk of Lyme disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Texas San Antonio NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Antonio, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2021 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $375,000 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AI152233-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11160589 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People living or working in areas with many black-legged ticks and high Lyme disease rates are the main group who could benefit from this approach.
✕Less likely to help
People who live in areas without black-legged ticks or who have no exposure to tick habitats would likely get no direct benefit.
What this research studies
This work aims to block Lyme disease at its source by giving vaccines to animals that maintain the bacterium, especially white-footed mice. Researchers create bait formulations containing purified proteins from Borrelia burgdorferi and feed them to both lab and reservoir mouse models. They will track whether vaccinated mice pass the bacterium to ticks less often and whether ticks collected later carry less infection. The team measures infection in ticks and mice to see if the bait approach could reduce environmental Lyme risk for people in treated areas.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could reduce infected ticks in the environment and lower people’s risk of getting Lyme disease.
How similar studies have gone: Previous animal work showed that purified Borrelia lipoproteins can protect mice from infection when given by injection, but using bait to vaccinate wild reservoir animals is less tested.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Texas San Antonio
San Antonio, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Seshu, Janakiram — University of Texas San Antonio
- Study coordinator: Seshu, Janakiram
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.