A Tickier World
A Tickier World connects science, lived experience, and public health to advance tick-borne disease education, prevention, and care. Hosted by public health and health sciences educator and researcher Dr. Jenny Hall, the podcast explores the growing impact of ticks and the diseases and conditions, locally and globally.
A Tickier World
A Tickier World: A Special Preview from Brazil
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Recorded in Salvador, Brazil, this special preview introduces A Tickier World through a global perspective on ticks and the illnesses and conditions associated with their bites.
I’m Dr. Jenny Hall, a health sciences and public health educator and researcher. Through A Tickier World, I connect scientific research, practical public health education, and lived experience to make information about ticks and tick-associated illnesses and conditions more understandable, relevant, and useful for improving prevention and care.
In this episode, I explore geographic differences, shared challenges, and the importance of knowing your risks, not only where you live, but also where you work and travel. I also introduce a One Health perspective connecting human, animal, and environmental health.
This special preview offers a starting point for Season 1, which will begin with an exploration of what it means to live in a tickier world, followed by episodes exploring Lyme disease and alpha-gal syndrome.
Episode Show Notes & Resources
This special preview episode of A Tickier World was inspired by time spent in Brazil and reflections from an international conference. It considers how geography shapes our understanding of ticks, tick-borne diseases, and related conditions, and why looking beyond our own communities can offer a broader perspective on shared challenges.
The episode brings together science, lived experience, and a One Health perspective to consider connections among people, animals, environments, healthcare, and public health.
In This Episode
- A global perspective on ticks and tick-associated illnesses and conditions, and what that means for understanding your own risk
- Lived experience with Lyme disease and alpha-gal syndrome
- A One Health lens connecting human, animal, and environmental health
About the Opening Quotes
The quotes featured at the opening of this episode are drawn from Dr. Hall’s research on the lived experiences of people with diagnosed tick-borne conditions.
References
The sources below are listed in the order they appear in the episode and support information, data, figures, or maps presented.
Wilson, J. M., Erickson, L., Levin, M., Ailsworth, S. M., Commins, S. P., & Platts-Mills, T. A. E. (2024). Tick bites, IgE to galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose and urticarial or anaphylactic reactions to mammalian meat: The alpha-gal syndrome. Allergy, 79(6), 1440–1454. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11142869/
Thompson, J. M., Carpenter, A., Kersh, G. J., Wachs, T., Commins, S. P., & Salzer, J. S. (2023). Geographic distribution of suspected alpha-gal syndrome cases—United States, January 2017–December 2022. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 72(30), 815–820. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7230a2.htm
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). Geographic distribution of tickborne disease cases. https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/data-research/facts-stats/geographic-distribution-of-tickborne-disease-cases.html
Wang, X.-R., & Cull, B. (2022). Apoptosis and autophagy: Current understanding in tick-pathogen interactions. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 12, 784430. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.784430/full
de la Fuente, J., et al. (2023). Perception of ticks and tick-borne diseases worldwide. Pathogens, 12(10), Article 1258. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/12/10/1258
Explore & Connect
Watch the episode on YouTube
https://youtu.be/ZjWg4eqVSMQ
Subscribe to A Tickier World on Substack
https://atickierworld.substack.com
Visit Ticks in Virginia:
https://www.ticksinvirginia.com/
Visual Note
Original photographs and video are by the author. Additional visuals include licensed design elements, public-domain materials, AI-generated illustrative images, and figures or maps from sources cited above.
This podcast is intended for educational purposes and does not provide individual medical advice.
Opening Lived Experience Perspectives
Dr. Jenny Hall"One person living with mammalian meat allergy or alpha gal syndrome described feeling in this way. My most frustrating aspect is that I'm doing this by myself here. I have no idea what's going on. I don't know what's happening out there in the world." Another person reflecting on living with Lyme disease explained. "People don't understand. Friends, teachers, professors, they don't understand. It's an invisible illness. I look healthy, but I'm not. And it's very isolating. So I think people need to understand that."
Dr. Jenny HallOver the last decade, I've heard from thousands of people through research, educational outreach, and personal conversations about their experiences with ticks, tick-borne diseases and related conditions and how they've affected their lives. Many were diagnosed quickly, received treatment, and recovered, while others spent years, even decades, searching for answers. And many found relief once they received a diagnosis. However, others were overwhelmed by how complicated treatment and long-term management was going to be.
Dr. Jenny HallAcross many of these stories, one theme surfaces. The impacts go well beyond a tick bite or a diagnosis and can be life-changing. And those experiences are one reason I decided to create A Tickier World. I wanted to connect lived experiences with science and public health to help people better understand tick-borne diseases and related conditions from prevention to earlier recognition to better management, treatment, and care. Opening music.
Welcome to A Tickier World
Dr. Jenny HallWelcome to A Tickier World. I'm Dr. Jenny Hall, a public health researcher and educator, founder of Ticks in Virginia, and your host. And I am recording this special episode today here in Salvador, Brazil, where my journey in global health began 25 years ago. So it felt like the perfect place to launch this special episode in advance of A Tickier World's official launch this fall.
Dr. Jenny HallBeing back in Salvador has really given me the opportunity to sit back and reflect and look at the bigger picture. Depending on where you're at in the world, the tick species may be different. The environments and habitats where ticks thrive may be different. The animals that are part of the ticks' life cycle may be different. And of course, the diseases and the illnesses that are associated with tick bites and their effects on humans and animals may be different. Even the perceptions and the way people think about ticks and tick-borne diseases may be different. But many of the questions, the misunderstandings, and the concerns are actually quite similar. So that brings me to what I want to explore with you today. Local differences, shared challenges, and then
Geography Shapes Tick Risk
Dr. Jenny Hallwhat we can learn from each other.
Dr. Jenny HallSometimes the differences may be geographic. A disease that receives significant attention in one region may still be emerging in another. It may be overlooked or less recognized somewhere else. I saw the value of learning across borders when I attended and presented at the first European Tick-borne Diseases Conference. Researchers, healthcare providers, and stakeholders from 21 different countries shared what they were seeing in their regions. I also happened to be the only person presenting at the conference specifically on alpha -gal syndrome. And that moment stayed with me, not because I was the only one there presenting on it, but because it showed how differently the same issue may be recognized depending on where you are. In the United States, and especially places in Virginia where I live and work, alpha-gal syndrome has become increasingly visible. In that European discussion, it had not yet reached the same level of attention.
Dr. Jenny HallRisk can vary from one country to another, one state or province to another, and sometimes from one community or even one neighborhood to another. In parts of central Virginia where I live, the effects can feel remarkably close to home. One woman shared this with me. I know two people in my neighborhood who have had Ehrlichiosis. I know like six people in the neighborhood who have had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. And Lyme is in my neighborhood too. Just in my neighborhood. These are houses that I could see if I got on my roof. So you know they're here. When someone can stand on their house and point toward this many affected households, the issue is no longer distant or abstract. It shows how geographically concentrated both risk and lived burden can become.
Dr. Jenny HallLyme disease also shows us how tick ecology can vary. In the United States, the black-legged tick is the main vector in the eastern and upper Midwestern states, while the western black-legged tick fills that role in the Pacific coast. In Europe, it's the castor bean tick. So tick behaviors are different too. Many ticks, like the black-legged tick, tend to hang out on vegetation and wait for their host to go by until they brush up against them and they can grab onto them. However, lone star ticks are much more aggressive human biters and actually move toward their potential hosts. These differences are not simply scientific details. They shape what healthcare providers should consider, what public health systems watch for, which prevention tools and behaviors are useful, and what people need to know.
Dr. Jenny HallDespite
Shared Challenges: Information, Awareness, and Healthcare
Dr. Jenny Hallall these differences, there are many challenges that are shared. People want answers. They want healthcare providers who recognize their concerns. They want information that is accurate, understandable, and accessible. They want effective prevention, treatment, management, and support.
Dr. Jenny HallHealthcare providers want these things too. They are trying to keep pace with evolving evidence, often with very short clinical encounters. Education must also be geographically relevant. Clinicians need to know the local risks and understand those risks. And they need to ask their patients about possible tick exposures, even if they don't remember a tick bite, particularly those practicing in tick endemic regions.
Dr. Jenny HallTicks do not exist apart from the world around us. Where they live, the animals they feed on, and the ways people interact with those places all shape risk. A backyard, a wooded trail, farm, park, or work site can bring ticks, animals, and people together in different ways. And whether an exposure becomes a recognized illness also depends on awareness, access to care, and whether healthcare providers and public health systems know what to look for.
A One Health Perspective
Dr. Jenny HallDr. Jenny Hall
A One Health response brings those pieces together. It means connecting information about ticks and the diseases and conditions associated with them to what we are seeing in people, animals, and the environment. It means researchers, veterinarians, healthcare providers, environmental health professionals, public health agencies, educators, and communities are sharing what they are learning. It also means using that knowledge to guide practical decisions from land and wildlife management to worker protection, provider education, surveillance, and prevention.
Dr. Jenny HallSo, what does this global perspective mean for you? Learn the risks where you are. And not only where you live, but also where you work and where you travel. Consider the season, the activities that you have planned, and the environments that you may enter.
Dr. Jenny HallIn Southwest Virginia, where I work, many people have told me they've been pulling ticks off themselves for years. They're not new to tick exposure, but many of them are sharing that it is feeling very different. They're seeing more, and they're seeing more Lone Star ticks in particular. As many more people are getting alpha -gal syndrome or know someone who has, along with those that have been experiencing persistent Lyme for decades and years, the perceived seriousness of a tick bite is changing.
Dr. Jenny HallBehind every estimate, surveillance map, and research study are people trying to understand what is happening to their bodies and how to move forward. And their experiences belong in the same conversation as science and public health.
Dr. Jenny HallThanks so much for joining me for this special episode from Brazil. Season one of A Tickier World officially launches this fall, and I hope you'll continue to join me. Follow A Tickier World on your podcast app so you're among the first to know when new episodes are released. And for show notes, trusted resources, and updates along the way, subscribe to A Tickier World on Substack. Until next time, remember it's not just what you know that matters, it's what you do with what you know that matters. Here's to navigating a tick your world together.