Worsening Climate Change Driving Spread Of Lyme Disease

Remember when it was mostly confined to the East Coast?
By Susie Madrak — July 8, 2025

Emergency rooms across the country are seeing a spike in tick bite cases, according to new data from the CDC. Via ABC News:

July has already seen the highest number of tick-related ER visits since 2017, with the Northeast region reporting the most cases, the CDC said.

Young children and elderly adults appear particularly vulnerable, with those under 10 and over 70 years old having the highest rates of emergency room visits, according to the CDC.

For residents in the New York tristate area, the threat is particularly severe. The Fordham Tick Index, which monitors tick activity in southern New York, Connecticut and Northern New Jersey, currently rates the bite risk as "very high" – 9 out of 10 on its scale.

Here's the US Lyme disease incidence data over time, using different case definitions. See a trend?

The EPA explains how climate change is impacting your risk of contracting Lyme disease. There are some great data visualizations here:
www.epa.gov/climate-indi...

— c0nc0rdance (@c0nc0rdance.bsky.social) 2025-07-02T17:13:43.008Z

The TL;DR:
With milder winters in some regions, ticks are active longer, spread further & have more chance to bite humans. Lyme disease has gone from a regional issue for people in Pennsylvania and adjacent regions to covering 1/3rd of the company.

Seems like a terrible time to defund the CDC.

— c0nc0rdance (@c0nc0rdance.bsky.social) 2025-07-02T17:13:43.009Z

https://bsky.app/profile/fl-sos.bsky.social/post/3lsuokph6is2m

Can you help us out?

For over 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but social media is limiting our ability to attract new readers. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Become a subscriber:
 
Make a donation:

If you don't mind the ads and would rather donate, please select one of the options below:

Kindest
Donate via PayPal
Via Snail Mail
payable to: Crooksandliars
528 Palisades Drive
Ste 548
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

Explore more

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.

What's Hot

Happening now

Latest from Blue America

Help Make America Blue
Mastodon