Dead Or Alive, Drexel Wants Ticks For Research

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A Drexel University professor is asking you to send him ticks — dead or alive.

Drexel is doing research to find out which ticks are where, and what kind of diseases they carry.

“Ticks have been referred to as the biologic sewers of the world,” said Doctor Garth Ehrlich, a professor of microbiology and immunology.

He says new technology is making it easier to identify the bacteria ticks carry.

“The reason we can do this is because we have developed a new DNA test which allows us to detect and tell you the species of essentially every bacteria on the planet,” he Ehrlich explained.

If you have a tick from an animal or a human, you can pop it in a small vial, then into a padded envelope and send it to the Center for Advanced Microbial Processing at Drexel using the address below.

—   Carol Hope
Drexel University Center for Advanced Microbial Processing, New College Building, 245 N. 15th Street, Room 17113
Philadelphia 19101.