WHEREAS, In 2016, Pennsylvania reported 12,200 confirmed
cases of Lyme disease, but the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention estimates that the number of confirmed cases of Lyme
disease only depicts a portion of the total number of cases; and
WHEREAS, Moreover, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention estimates that the actual cases of Lyme disease can
be up to 10 times greater than the reported cases, indicating
that Pennsylvania could have up to 122,000 cases per year; and
WHEREAS, The Northeast Wildlife DNA Laboratory at East
Stroudsburg University is an extension of the Biological
Sciences Department at East Stroudsburg University; and
WHEREAS, The Northeast Wildlife DNA Laboratory was founded in
2005 by distinguished Professor of Biology Jane Huffman, Ph.D.,
and has since been established as one of the leading tick
testing laboratories in the United States and the only tick
testing laboratory in Pennsylvania that provides tick-borne
pathogen identification to the public; and
WHEREAS, The Northeast Wildlife DNA Laboratory currently
tests thousands of ticks each year and utilizes the data for
surveillance of tick species and infection rates in
Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, The Northeast Wildlife DNA Laboratory is one of two
major tick testing facilities in the United States that provides
comprehensive research data on tick-borne pathogens across the
country; and
WHEREAS, The Northeast Wildlife DNA Laboratory also developed
Lyme-Aid, a tick testing kit for people and pets, which is the
first commercialized faculty-student research project in the
124-year history of East Stroudsburg University; and
WHEREAS, On July 20, 2017, Lyme-Aid was rebranded and
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