The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said weekly rates of hospital emergency room visits for tick bites are the highest they have been for this time of year since 2017, prompting federal health officials to urge people to protect themselves from ticks and the serious diseases they transmit, including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
“Tick season is here and these tiny biters can make you seriously sick,” Alison Hinckley, an epidemiologist and Lyme disease expert with the CDC, said in a press release.
Lyme disease, carried by the black-legged deer tick, is the most common tick-borne disease in the U.S. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, muscle aches and pains and swollen lymph nodes, according to the Mayo Clinic. In some cases, people who are infected develop a circular “bull’s-eye” rash.
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Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
