Deer Tick Surveillance: Nymphs (May to Sept) Powassan Virus Only: Beginning 2009
health.data.ny.gov | Last Updated 16 Mar 2023This dataset provides the results from collecting and testing nymph deer ticks, also known as blacklegged ticks, or by their scientific name <i>Ixodes scapularis</i>. Collection and testing take place across New York State (excluding New York City) from May to September, when nymph deer ticks are most commonly seen. Nymph deer ticks are tested in “pools”, or groups of up to ten adult ticks per pool, for the Powassan virus, also known as Deer tick virus. These data should simply be used to educate people that there is a risk of coming in contact with ticks and tick-borne diseases. These data only provide nymph tick minimum infection rates at a precise location and at one point in time. Both measures, tick population density and minimum infection percentages, can vary greatly within a very small area and within a county. These data should not be used to broadly predict disease risk for a county. Further below on this page you can find links to tick prevention tips, a video on how to safely remove a tick, and more datasets with tick testing results. Interactive charts and maps provide an easier way to view the data.
This dataset has the following 10 columns:
| Column Name | API Column Name | Data Type | Description | Sample Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | year | text | Year in which ticks (all species and life stages) were collected. | 2017 2014 2016 2019 2015 view top 100 |
| County | county | text | The county where ticks (all species and life stages) were collected. Ticks are often collected from multiple publicly accessible sites in each county. | Oswego Albany Cattaraugus Ulster Saratoga view top 100 |
| Total Sites Visited | total_sites_visited | number | The total number of publicly accessible sites visited in the county. For the nymph dataset, this means publicly accessible sites visited from May to September. | 1 2 3 4 5 view top 100 |
| Total Ticks Collected | total_ticks_collected | number | The total number of ticks (all species and life stages) collected in the county during visits to publicly accessible sites from May to September. | 0 1 4 10 52 view top 100 |
| Tick Population Density | nymphal_density | number | The average number of nymph deer ticks (also known as blacklegged ticks or their scientific name Ixodes scapularis) collected per 1,000 meters sampled in the county. Tick population density is calculated only from the total nymph deer ticks collected (and does not include other species or life stages collected at the time of the site visit). Note: When taken in conjunction with Minimum Infection Rate (MIR) for Powassan virus, this field can give a sense of risk of encountering an infected tick. But tick population density and MIR can vary widely at different publicly accessible sites within a county, as well as from year to year. Statewide testing of ticks for Powassan virus began in 2009. | 0 1.00 4 3 11.9 view top 100 |
| Total Ticks Tested | total_ticks_tested | number | Total number of nymph deer ticks that were tested for Powassan virus. | 0 50 10 5 9 view top 100 |
| Pools Tested | pools_tested | number | The number of pools of nymph deer ticks tested for Powassan virus. Typically, 5-10 ticks are processed together in one tube and tested as one unit (called a “pool”). Note: Testing is for the Powassan group of viruses, which includes Powassan virus and Deer Tick virus. Because of the low expected infection rate of Powassan virus in deer ticks, they are not tested individually, but in pools. | 0 1 5 2 3 view top 100 |
| Pools Positive | pools_positive | number | Total number of nymph deer tick pools that tested positive for Powassan virus. Note: This testing will detect both Powassan virus and Deer Tick virus, but does not differentiate between the two. It is expected that the vast majority of nymph deer ticks testing positive are infected with Deer Tick virus. | 0 1 3 4 view top 100 |
| Minimum Infection Rate | minimum_infection_rate | number | When tick pools test positive, it is assumed that one tick in the pool was positive. Minimum Infection Rate (MIR) is the measure used to address this. MIR is the ratio of the number of positive pools to the total number of nymph ticks tested. Note: This field can give a sense of ticks infected with Powassan virus in a particular area. But tick population density and (MIR) can vary widely at different publicly accessible sites within a county, as well as from year to year. | 0 0.2 2.0 2.1 0.7 view top 100 |
| County Location | county_location | location | This is a centroid location within the county. It is used strictly for mapping purposes and does not reflect any specific place of the listed locality or county.. | view top 100 |