Nope, you’re not imagining it. Tick bites are going up in the United States, and experts say it’s partly because these parasites are thriving in higher temperatures.
What’s happening?
Healthline summarized the trend, reporting that the U.S. this year has experienced its highest rate of tick bites in more than five years, per data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency reports that there were 74 tick bites per 100,000 emergency room visits in July, the highest rate for this month since 2017. In May, there were 134 tick bites per 100,000 emergency room visits, the highest for that month since 2019.
Healthline says that the Northeast has been especially impacted, with 127 bites per 100,000 emergency room visits in that region so far this year.
According to Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert and professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, ticks have been expanding gradually in the U.S. over the past two decades.
“Since tick bites can spread certain infectious diseases, the geographic areas impacted by these infections has expanded along with the ticks,” he told Healthline. “Doctors have had to become more aware of these tick-transmitted infections, and the general public needs to become mindful of how to prevent tick bites when they go out into nature.”
Why is this trend concerning?
Experts told Healthline that the overheating planet is a major factor in the spread of ticks and tick-borne diseases.
For one, deer ticks, which carry Lyme disease, have expanded their range to 16 Northern states during the past 50 years, the outlet reported. Plus, it appears ticks’ range is moving westward — Montana officials recently announced that one resident found a Lyme disease-carrying deer tick on his dog there, an anomaly for the state.
And in Canada, scientists say Lyme disease risk doubled in Québec and tripled in Manitoba between 2000 and 2015.
What’s being done about tick-borne disease?
Healthline shared a list of preventative actions suggested by one expert, including wearing long clothing, wearing light-colored clothing, spraying clothing with permethrin, staying on designated paths, examining skin for ticks after spending time outdoors, and checking pets for tick “hitchhikers.”
Speaking of pets, you can protect them by giving them a tick preventative such as K9 Advantix or Frontline Plus.
Meanwhile, researchers are developing a new chewable tablet that people can take to prevent tick bites.
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