‘We’re in for a bad year’: Scientists see warning signs for Lyme disease, tick-borne illnesses

(NEXSTAR) – As the weather warms up, scientists have a dire warning before you head outdoors. When it comes to ticks, “unfortunately, it seems that we are in for a very bad year,” said Nicole Baumgarth, a professor of immunology and infectious disease at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The number of emergency room visits for tick bites was alarmingly high in April. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracking system showed the weekly rates of ER visits for tick bites were the highest recorded in April since 2017. That was true in all regions of the country, except the south-central United States.

“These numbers are only the tip of an iceberg of tickborne illnesses that we have seen so far this year,” said Baumgarth, director of Johns Hopkins’ Lyme and Tickborne Diseases Research and Education Institute. 

Ticks, small bloodsucking insects, are so worrisome not because they suck your blood, but rather because they can carry diseases like Lyme, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, or alpha-gal........

© The Hill