Tick-borne disease has been rising over the past few decades and mice are seen as the main reservoir for the bacteria that cause Lyme and other diseases.
NPR interviewed UBC infectious disease professor Jan Hajek about a proposal to let genetically engineered mice run free on Nantucket Island to combat Lyme disease.
The idea is that if mice could be engineered to be resistant to the tick-borne infection, the cycle could be interrupted.
“I wonder how much the scientific interest of the researcher to be innovative and advance our knowledge and ability to manipulate mouse genetics on both an individual and population level is driving this research and how much is the desire to reduce the impact of Lyme disease,” Hajek said.
