In 1993 members of the RNSH Microbiology Department, Sydney University Faculty of Veterinary Science, Manly-Warringah Division of General Practice and a community support group (TAGS), joined forces to form the TDRU under the leadership of Dr Bernie Hudson (Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards).
The group meets at 6-week intervals. Invaluable tick collection and entomological expertise has been provided by Bill Conroy, a resident of Pittwater, previously of the NSW Department of Agriculture, now retired, but still actively involved with TDRU research.
Since October 1995 we have been conducting a study on tick-borne diseases in Pittwater Shire. This does not just mean Lyme borreliosis. It includes Spotted Fever due to Rickettsia australis (also called Queensland Tick Typhus or QTT for short) and possibly other infections that have not yet been identified.
Our initiatives have improved community and media awareness about Lyme disease
and Spotted Fever. We have, with the support of Roche Pharmaceuticals, produced
a poster for display in doctor's surgeries.