Canine Vaccines to Prevent Tick Bites

Phase I SBIR proposals will be accepted. Fast-track proposals will not be accepted. Phase I clinical trials will not be accepted. Number of anticipated awards: 1 Budget (total costs): Phase I up to $243,500 for up to 6 months; Phase II of up to $2,045,816 and a Phase II duration of up to 2 years PROPOSALS THAT EXCEED THE BUDGET OR PROJECT DURATION LISTED ABOVE MAY NOT BE FUNDED. Background Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF; Rickettsia rickettsii infection) has been recognized for over a century and is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in hyperendemic areas. The incidence of RMSF has been increasing in parts of the United States and Mexico and has become hyperendemic in some communities in these regions. These increases are a result of an ecological cycle that depends on the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus). In Arizona, tribal lands have been heavily impacted by RMSF with a peak of incidence on tribal lands that was 150 times the overall national incidence of spotted fever rickettsioses. In northern Mexico multiple states have been impacted, with over 500 deaths due to RMSF reported from 2021-2023 and case fatality rates greater than 50% in some states. Studies of this problem in Arizona and Mexico have demonstrated that focused implementation of tick control in these areas will result in a reduction of RMSF cases. Current tick control methods, based primarily on the use of acaricides, have proven difficult to deploy across large geographic areas with substantial populations. Use of chemical acaricides can also have serious drawbacks, including the selection for acaricide-resistant ticks and environmental contamination. There is a need for sustained and widespread tick control measures to reduce the risk to human health.