U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, is calling on Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to update the country on efforts to establish a Tick-Born Disease Working Group. Blumenthal says it’s required by the 21st Century Cures Act.
Senator Blumenthal says he wants to control Connecticut’s surging tick population and efforts to monitor tick-borne viruses including Lyme, Babesia and Powassan.
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station recently received $3.25 million — its share of a $10 million federal grant. It will establish a Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases to fight mosquito and tick-borne diseases, including West Nile and Zika.