According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the number of Lyme infections has nearly doubled since 1991. In fact, Mayo Clinic Laboratories conducts more than 300,000 tests for tick-borne diseases annually. Growing up, you might remember tick bites being a summertime issue when temperatures are high, and shrubbery is overgrown, creating the perfect environment for these pesky insects. Well, with less snow on the ground and milder winter temperatures, ticks are now popping up year-round.
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What is Lyme disease?
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), humans can get Lyme disease through contact with infected black-legged ticks. The bacterial infection is most common in the Northeast (which is currently experiencing a spike in cases), mid-Atlantic, and upper Midwest.
In 2022, the CDC and Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists updated their definitions, which has allowed professionals to better understand and report new disease findings. Since then, Lyme disease cases have been steadily on the rise.
"The new Lyme disease case definition allows us to get a more accurate count of Lyme disease cases in high-incidence areas, which will improve our understanding of Lyme disease and its impact on people living in the United States," said Bobbi Pritt, MD, director of the Clinical Parasitology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, in a health report.
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Maine and Ohio are seeing an increase in Lyme disease cases.
Blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks, are taking over the state of Maine. As the Portland Press Herald reports, the number of Lyme cases this year has exceeded 3,000 thus far, three times more than the statewide average.
"The midcoast has really become the epicenter of tick abundance," Griffin Dill, integrated pest management specialist at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s tick lab, told the outlet. "We’ve seen a shift in the focal point from Cumberland and York counties to the midcoast range, where we’ve seen a drastic increase in tick density and corresponding human infections. We’re seeing ticks move farther and farther Down East."
Meanwhile, Ohio is also witnessing an uptick in Lyme infections. In 2023, the state reported 1,283 cases, a 35-fold increase since 2010, says the Ohio Department of Health. According to the health agency, deer ticks are most common in eastern and southeastern regions but are "likely to occur in suitable wooded, brushy habitat throughout the state."
Warm spells in the winter can awaken sleeping ticks, prompting them to come out and feed.
Although typically dormant, adult ticks do come out in the winter. And with the milder winters the U.S. has been experiencing lately, tick bites are now considered common around this time of year.
“If temperatures rise above 35 degrees, and the ground thaws, hungry adult ticks can awaken from dormancy and go looking for a meal. The very same mild winter days that draw people and pets outdoors also put us at risk,” says Adirondack Magazine.
“In the Northeast, that means ticks can bite during any warmish spell in January, February, and beyond,” they add.
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7 symptoms of Lyme disease to look out for
According to the CDC, early signs and symptoms of a tick bite can show up anywhere from three to 30 days post-incident. Common side effects may include:
- Fever
- Chills
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Muscle and joint aches
- Swollen lymph nodes
However, most health experts would tell you that a bull’s-eye rash is arguably the most common sign of a tick bite. However, these aren’t always easy to spot.
"Also, some people may have a rash and not know if it's on the back of their head or another hard-to-see and hard-to-reach area. If the infection is not treated right away, the patient may then progress to having other symptoms, like disseminated rashes, joint pain, arthritis and even neurologic involvement. And they can even have one-sided facial paralysis, called Bell's palsy," explained Pritt in the report.
If a tick bite is left untreated, severe symptoms can start to take over your whole body, the CDC warns. Here are eight advanced symptoms to look out for, which may occur days to months post-bite.
- Severe headaches
- Neck stiffness
- Swelling in the knees and other large joints
- Irregular heartbeat
- Dizziness and shortness of breath
- Nerve pain
- Inflammation in the brain and spinal cord
- Feelings of numbness or tingling in the hands and feet
Of course, you should speak with a medical professional if you notice a tick bite and/or begin experiencing any of these symptoms in correlation with one another—especially if you live in or traveled to an area that has a lot of Lyme disease cases.
