Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has submitted the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The notice for the proposed information collection is published to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies.

Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of information are encouraged. Your comments should address any of the following: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy of the agencies estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; (d) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses; and (e) Assess information collection costs.

To request additional information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan and instruments, call (404) 639-7570 or send an email to omb@cdc.gov. Written comments and/or suggestions regarding the items contained in this notice should be directed to the Attention: CDC Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503 or by fax to (202) 395-5806. Written comments should be received within 30 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

Backyard Integrated Tick Management Project—Existing Collection in Use without an OMB Number—National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

The combined number of confirmed and probable Lyme disease cases has exceeded 30,000 in all years since 2008, and recent estimates suggest that the true number of Lyme disease cases may be 10-fold higher. There is no Lyme disease vaccine for use in humans and prevention of infection is therefore completely reliant on personal protective measures (avoiding tick habitat, use of repellent, tick checks or prompt tick removal, etc.), and methods to suppress vector ticks in the environment.

The primary goal of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of specific tick/pathogen control methods used on single versus multiple adjacent properties on the risk of human exposure to ticks. The secondary goal is to better understand human landscape use patterns and tick exposure locations. The project was initiated in direct response to knowledge gaps, identified by CDC Subject Matter Experts, for the use of integrated tick vector/rodent reservoir management to reduce human risk of exposure to Ixodes scapularis ticks, the sole vector of Lyme disease in the Northeast.

Resulting data is intended to be used to provide suggestions for improving tick/pathogen control methods used in the environment.

Information will be collected, under protocols approved by the Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) at Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) and the University of Rhode Island (URI), from inhabitants of residential properties to (i) compare the effectiveness of an integrated tick management approach at single-treated residential properties vs. contiguously-treated residential properties to reduce human tick bites, and (ii) increase the understanding of where people encounter ticks, both near their homes and in other outdoor settings.

Another potential positive outcome of the information collection is more effective targeting of tick control efforts to high-risk areas, minimizing pesticide use. Not collecting the information would lead to inadequate evaluation of the implemented integrated tick management program (solely focusing on host-seeking ticks collected from the vegetation), as well as the unacceptable status quo for detailed knowledge of where people encounter ticks within their residential properties and on the residential properties versus elsewhere.

Information will be collected by WCSU and URI researchers from inhabitants (adults and children) of participating residential properties (freestanding homes with tick habitat on the property) located in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Consenting participants will complete one introductory survey by telephone, projected to last no more than 15 minutes. In May-August of Years 1-4, participants will also complete an emailed monthly tick encounter survey about the number of ticks found on each member of the household and each household member's tick-borne disease status, projected to take no more than 10 minutes per month to complete. An end-of-season survey will also be administered in March/April each year, projected to take no more than 10 minutes to complete.

In addition, participants will be asked to record location of daily activity on behalf of themselves and household members each day over the first week of June in a single year via emailed daily surveys, projected to take 70 minutes over the week of participation. Lastly, an end-of-study survey will be administered in September 2020, projected to take no more than 15 minutes. In total, we expect approximately two hours or less of total time spent on surveys by consented participants in each year of the study. All survey instruments have also been approved by the IRBs at WCSU and URI.

The collection of information is conducted by WCSU, and its subcontractor, URI, as part of a Cooperative Agreement with the CDC (1U01CK0004912-01). The Cooperative Agreement was established based on WCSU competing successfully for CDC RFA-CK-16-002 (Spatially Scalable Integrated Tick Vector/Rodent Reservoir Management to Reduce Human Risk of Exposure to Ixodes scapularis Ticks Infected with Lyme Disease Spirochetes).

This study is authorized by Section 301 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241).

There is no cost to respondents other than the time to participate. The total estimated annual burden hours are 557.