Halifax Beautification Committee hosts presentation on home tick-testing device invented locally

HALIFAX — June 25, 2026 — Halifax Beautification Committee hosts tick disease prevention talk featuring locally invented home test kit. The committee brought in Halifax resident and MIT co-founder Erin Derricki to present at the Holmes Public Library on June 25, where she described Line Alert, a home device that crushes a removed tick and uses a test strip to detect Lyme disease within the CDC-recommended 72-hour antibiotic window. Derricki, a former pediatric orthopedic practitioner with nearly 20 years of clinical experience, said standard blood tests miss 64 to 70 percent of Lyme cases in the first 30 days after a bite, and that Lyme disease now creates a $1.3 billion annual burden on U.S. healthcare. She cited a 1-million-person-and-pet U.S. diagnosis count last year and noted treatment costs averaging $3,000 per person and up to $10,000 per horse. The committee, sparked by a social media post and a tip from member Bob Hodge that Derricki was his neighbor, organized the session; no formal votes were taken.