Scientists analyze tick spit to study the spread of infections
VXTREME CNN's Ann Kellan reports on scientists who gather tick spit for experiments 2 min. 50 sec. VXtreme video

In this story:

• You've been bitten, but don't know it
• Related stories and sites

NORTH KINGSTON, Rhode Island (CNN) -- It's tick season and if just the thought of these tiny, blood-sucking, disease-spreading parasites gives you the creeps, stop reading right now. This story is about scientists who collect ticks and analyze their saliva -- tick spit -- hoping to learn how to stop the spread of infection.

Professor Thomas Mather leads a team of scientists at the University of Rhode Island who do this odd-sounding but potentially valuable research. The work, he told CNN, could lead to useful new drugs for fighting Lyme disease and other infections transmitted by ticks. ( 85K/7 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

As a tick sucks blood with its mean-looking pinchers, it also spits small amounts of saliva into its host, explains university researcher Nathan Miller. ( 68K/5 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

Sometimes when a young tick sucks blood from a rodent, it can pick up disease-causing microorganisms

It's usually when a young tick sucks blood from a rodent that it picks up the disease-causing microorganisms that the tick will inadvertently spit into its next host, which could be a pet or a human.

According to researchers, some mysterious compound in tick spit prevents the host's natural defenses from fighting the infectious organisms.

If researchers could identify that compound, says Miller, they might find a way to counteract it with a vaccine. ( 111K/9 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

You've been bitten, but don't know it

Isolating the anticoagulant properties in tick spit could aid researchers studying human blood transfusions

In effect, says Mather, the saliva contains a pain killer that's essential during a tick's three- to five-day feeding period. ( 85K/7 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

That pain killer could lead to a useful medicine for humans.

Researchers also want to isolate the anti-coagulant properties in tick spit that keep blood flowing when normally it would clot.

Anti-coagulants are used to treat people who have blood clots or during blood transfusions.

Researchers are still years away from applying what they're learning about tick spit. In the meantime, they advise, check yourself and your pets thoroughly if you're in areas known to harbor ticks.

You have about 24 hours once a tick latches on before it potentially could start spitting out those harmful microorganisms.