Tick bite ER visits hit highest seasonal level in years as doctors warn of disease surge

Tick bite-related ER visits are astatine their highest seasonal levels since 2017 crossed astir U.S. regions, raising concerns astir accrued Lyme illness and different tick-borne illnesses.

That’s according to caller information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Tick Bite Tracker, which monitors play exigency section visits associated with tick bites crossed the country.

For each 100,000 ER visits, astir 71 were related to tick bites successful April 2026, compared to a humanities seasonal mean of astir 30 per 100,000.

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Some of the highest rates of tick-based ER visits were among children younger than 10 years and adults betwixt 70 and 79 years.

A close-up shows a parasitic mite successful question connected a quality fingertip, highlighting the imaginable for illness transmission specified arsenic encephalitis. (iStock)

"Over the past 3 decades, the geographic scope of the blacklegged tick has expanded significantly, and with it, the hazard of Lyme illness and different Ixodes-transmitted infections," Dr. Steven Goldberg, MD, a household medicine doc who practices urgent attraction and household medicine astatine UofLHealth successful Louisville, Kentucky, told Fox News Digital.

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"The Ohio River Valley portion is 1 of the astir striking examples — Lyme illness cases successful Ohio person accrued astir 10-fold implicit the past decade, apt driven by the convergence of Northeastern and Upper Midwestern tick populations gathering successful that corridor."

States similar Virginia and West Virginia, arsenic good arsenic areas southbound of the accepted endemic zone, are reporting expanding tick abundance and illness cases, the doc noted.

"Over the past 3 decades, the geographic scope of the blacklegged tick has expanded significantly."

"The lone prima tick is besides expanding its scope northward beyond its accepted stronghold successful the Southeast, which means diseases similar ehrlichiosis and alpha-gal syndrome are appearing successful regions wherever clinicians whitethorn not yet beryllium reasoning astir them," helium warned.

Some clime studies foretell that the blacklegged tick's suitable situation could grow by implicit 200% by the extremity of the century, Goldberg noted, including into Canada and crossed the cardinal and confederate U.S.

What’s driving the spike?

"Warmer, wetter conditions let ticks to past successful habitats that antecedently would person been excessively cold," Saggar said. "Milder winters besides widen the lifespan of some ticks and the animals they provender on, accelerating tick reproduction and shortening their beingness cycles."

Areas that historically experienced longer, colder winters oregon important snowfall screen are present much hospitable to ticks, the doc noted.

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"As temperatures emergence and precipitation patterns change, ticks are capable to dispersed northward and thrive successful caller ecosystems," helium said. 

Another contributing origin is accrued onshore improvement and quality enlargement into wooded and grassy areas, arsenic good arsenic reforestation of formerly cultivation land.

"As temperatures emergence and precipitation patterns change, ticks are capable to dispersed northward and thrive successful caller ecosystems," an adept said.  (iStock)

"The betterment and enlargement of white-tailed cervid populations — captious hosts for big blacklegged ticks — has been a large driver," Goldberg added. "Deer density is positively associated with Lyme illness incidence. Small mammal communities, peculiarly white-footed mice that service arsenic cardinal reservoir hosts for Borrelia burgdorferi, besides play a cardinal role."

Tick-borne diseases

Tick bites are known to transmit galore illnesses, the astir wide of which is Lyme disease, a bacterial infection.

"Lyme illness cases unsocial person accrued astir two- to threefold implicit the past 20 years," Saggar said. Approximately 476,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme illness each year, per CDC surveillance data.

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Also communal are anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis, 2 antithetic types of bacterial infections, according to the doctor. Tick bites tin besides origin babesiosis, a malaria-like parasitic illness that infects and destroys reddish humor cells.

"Another increasing interest is alpha-gal syndrome, a information successful which a (lone star) tick wound triggers a superior allergic absorption to reddish meat," Saggar said. "In uncommon cases, radical person died from anaphylactic reactions linked to alpha-gal syndrome pursuing a tick bite."

Some communal symptoms of tick-borne unwellness see fever, chills, fatigue, headaches, musculus aches and associated pain. (iStock)

Ticks tin besides transmit viruses, including the Powassan virus, which tin origin terrible neurologic injury.

"Powassan microorganism illness is arguably the astir concerning emerging tick-borne infection," said Goldberg, who is besides main aesculapian serviceman astatine HealthTrack. "It's transmitted by the aforesaid blacklegged tick that carries Lyme disease, but dissimilar Lyme, it tin beryllium transmitted wrong minutes of tick attachment."

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Powassan tin origin terrible encephalitis with a astir 10% to 15% fatality rate, and much than fractional of survivors person lasting neurological deficits, Goldberg noted.

In the Rocky Mountain states, the Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni) transmits Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Colorado tick fever.

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"In the Southeast and South-Central U.S., the lone prima tick (Amblyomma americanum) drives a antithetic acceptable of concerns: ehrlichiosis, tularemia, and 2 emerging viral threats — Heartland microorganism and Bourbon virus," said Goldberg.

Symptoms to ticker for

Some communal symptoms of tick-borne unwellness see fever, chills, fatigue, headaches, musculus aches and associated pain, according to Dr. Suraj Saggar, main of infectious illness astatine Holy Name Medical Center successful Teaneck, New Jersey.

Another motion is the classical "bullseye" rash associated with Lyme disease, known medically arsenic "erythema migrans." 

"If you deliberation you person been bitten by a tick, you should question aesculapian attraction if you make symptoms aft a known tick wound oregon aft spending clip successful tick-prone areas, particularly during the spring, summertime and fall." (iStock)

"Because investigating tin sometimes beryllium falsely antagonistic aboriginal successful the illness process, doctors whitethorn dainty patients based connected symptoms and vulnerability past alternatively than waiting for laboratory confirmation," Saggar noted. 

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"If you deliberation you person been bitten by a tick, you should question aesculapian attraction if you make symptoms aft a known tick wound oregon aft spending clip successful tick-prone areas, particularly during the spring, summertime and fall."

Preventing tick bites

As determination are nary vaccines presently disposable for immoderate tick-borne illness successful the U.S., prevention is the astir effectual strategy.

Goldberg shared the pursuing recommended prevention strategies.

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• Use EPA-approved repellents, including DEET, picaridin, IR3535 oregon lipid of citrus eucalyptus connected exposed skin. Treat covering and cogwheel with permethrin (a synthetic insecticide and repellent) oregon acquisition pre-treated clothing.
• Wear light-colored covering (to spot ticks much easily), agelong sleeves and agelong pants tucked into socks erstwhile successful wooded oregon grassy areas.
• After spending clip outdoors, cheque your full body, paying peculiar attraction to the scalp, down the ears, armpits, groin and down the knees, the doc advised. It’s besides recommended to ablution wrong 2 hours of coming indoors.
• Tumble-dry covering connected precocious vigor for astatine slightest 10 minutes to termination immoderate ticks connected clothing.
• Remove ticks promptly and properly. Using fine-tipped tweezers, grasp the tick arsenic adjacent to the tegument arsenic possible, and propulsion upward with steady, adjacent pressure. Clean the wound country afterward.

Approximately 476,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme illness each year, per CDC data.

"The longer a tick is attached, the higher the hazard of illness transmission — for Lyme disease, transmission mostly requires astatine slightest 36 hours of attachment," Goldberg said. "The Powassan microorganism tin beryllium transmitted overmuch much quickly."