“Specifically, Spratt and her team of students are examining the DNA of ticks from more than 60 Missouri counties to find out what tick-borne diseases the insects are carrying and what areas they are prevalent in.”

“Spratt's research is also drawing attention from the United States military.”

“William Woods is collaborating with the Navy Medical Research Center in Silver Spring, Md., to try and prevent troops from becoming infected by tick-borne illnesses.”

"They are providing us with encouragment and some of the sequences for the probes that we need to do this research," Spratt said. "There are new diseases being discovered all the time and it is of particular interest to our military because they infect our troops, even when they are in training camps in the United States, so they are interested in working with us to find what is really out there in this area."

http://www.fultonsun.com/articles/2010/02/05/news/340news04.txt