More Americans are going to emergency rooms for tick bites than at any previously recorded level — and it is only the beginning of summer.
Emergency department visits for tick bites increased more than 25 percent in April 2026 compared to April 2025, according to CDC data cited at a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health media briefing on May 5, 2026. Public health researchers called it an early indicator of what may be a challenging year for Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.
