CDC reports highest tick-bite ER visits since 2017 across U.S.
Tick-bite ER visits hit a seven-year high in most U.S. regions, while CDC warns Lyme, spotted fever and alpha-gal risks are rising with warmer weather.
Tick-bite emergency room visits reached their highest levels for this time of year since 2017 in every U.S. region except the South Central. CDC's April 23 warning came as Lyme Disease Awareness Month approached and as health officials urged people to treat tick exposure as an immediate risk, not a nuisance that can wait for symptoms to get worse.
CDC epidemiologist Alison Hinckley: “Tick season is here and these tiny biters can make you seriously sick.” Tick bites can transmit Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and alpha-gal syndrome, and the best protection is prevention. If a tick is attached, remove it as soon as possible, because taking it off within 24 hours can help prevent Lyme disease.
The higher ER rates are landing in a season when blacklegged ticks are widely distributed across the eastern U.S. The greatest risk of being bitten is in spring, summer and fall. Adult ticks can also seek hosts any time winter temperatures are above freezing, which stretches the danger window beyond the months many people still think of as tick season. Climate is one factor driving vector-borne disease, and warmer weather, changing rainfall patterns and rising temperatures can boost tick populations and lengthen the time they are active.
State and local health departments reported an average of 46,115 tickborne disease cases each year from 2019 through 2022. Over the longer span from 2003 to 2023, more than 1 million vector-borne disease cases were reported in the United States. Lyme disease remains the biggest piece of the problem: more than 89,000 Lyme cases were reported to CDC in 2023, and a 2021 insurance-based estimate put about 476,000 Americans diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year.
The Tick Bite Data Tracker, launched in 2021 and made publicly available in 2024, breaks emergency department syndromic surveillance data down by week, month, region, age and sex. Pennsylvania’s 2026 prevention materials list fever, chills, headache, muscle aches or joint aches as reasons to seek care quickly after a possible exposure.
On April 30, the New York State Department of Health, the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation urged residents to take precautions as warm weather approached.
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