Why This Matters
Right now, in the third week of July, Americans are doing the activities that make tick exposure most likely: summer camp, hiking trails, backyard grilling at dusk, and outdoor sports in wooded and brushy environments. The timing could not be more consequential.
Emergency department visits for tick bites are running at the highest rate recorded since 2017, according to the CDC's Tick Bite Tracker. Nationally, the current rate is approximately 65 tick bite-related ER visits per 100,000 ED visits, up from 47 per 100,000 last year, according to reporting from WRCO. July and August are historically peak months for Lyme disease diagnoses across most of the United States. This season began earlier than usual, with tick activity ramping up in February and March.
For parents sending children to summer camp, for hikers, for anyone spending time in grass, brush, or wooded areas right now, the risk is real, and the prevention steps are specific.
What We Know So Far
The data behind the 2026 season reflect a genuine increase in human-tick contact. At a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health media briefing on May 5, 2026, researchers cited the April 2026 ER data showing a 25% increase in tick-bite visits compared to April 2025, with 104 visits per 100,000 total ER visits nationally, according to MedicalDaily's prior coverage of that briefing.
The Northeast and Midwest are being hit hardest, according to CDC data, with the Midwest experiencing one of its worst tick seasons in over a decade. But ticks are expanding geographically; lone star ticks and black-legged deer ticks are now established in regions that recorded few or no local tick populations a decade ago.
Dr. David Sullivan, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told TODAY.com that approximately 31 million Americans are bitten by a tick every year. The official Lyme disease case count for 2023, the most recent year with final data, was more than 89,000 confirmed cases. Researchers believe the true burden is closer to 500,000 annually, reflecting significant underdiagnosis and underreporting.
Where the Risk Is Highest
The Northeast has the highest current tick-bite ER visit rate in the country. States with the most established black-legged tick populations, and therefore the highest Lyme disease risk, include Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, and Maryland, among others. The CDC's Tick Bite Tracker, updated continuously, shows current regional activity levels and is updated each week.
The Midwest is seeing its worst regional tick season in more than a decade, according to CDC data reported by TODAY.com.
Beyond Lyme disease, expanding tick populations are bringing other tick-borne diseases to new regions. Powassan virus, which can cause permanent brain damage and can be transmitted in as little as 15 minutes of tick attachment (unlike Lyme, which typically requires 24 to 36 hours), is moving into parts of the Northeast and Great Lakes region where it was rarely seen before. Alpha-gal syndrome, caused by the lone star tick, is expanding across the South and into the Midwest, triggering red meat allergies in people with no prior food sensitivities.
What Doctors and Experts Say
Dr. Sullivan told TODAY.com that the season is running ahead of prior years and that the geographic expansion of tick species means people in areas they previously considered low-risk may now face genuine exposure.
The CDC recommends the following protective measures, each of which has documented effectiveness:
Treat outdoor clothing and gear with products containing 0.5% permethrin, or purchase pre-treated permethrin clothing. Permethrin remains effective through multiple washings and kills ticks that contact it. Apply EPA-registered insect repellents to exposed skin, including DEET (20% to 30% concentration), picaridin, or IR3535. Walk in the center of trails, avoiding tall grass and brush on the margins. Shower within two hours of coming indoors, which has been shown to reduce the risk of Lyme disease and may wash off unattached ticks.
Ticks must typically be attached for 24 to 36 hours before the bacteria that cause Lyme disease can be transmitted, which is why prompt removal is protective. This is not true for all tick-borne diseases: Powassan virus can transmit in as little as 15 minutes, making prevention and rapid removal important regardless of attachment time.
What the Evidence Shows and What It Does Not
The 25% increase in ER visits for tick bites in April 2026 compared to April 2025 is based on CDC syndromic surveillance from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program, which captures visit volume without determining whether infections resulted. Not every tick bite leads to disease, and not every tick carries pathogens. The increase in ER visits reflects more tick encounters, not necessarily a proportional rise in confirmed tick-borne disease cases.
What the evidence clearly supports is that tick populations are expanding geographically, the season is starting earlier due to milder winters, and the 2026 season is tracking above recent baselines at its current point.
MedicalDaily Evidence Check
- Data source: CDC Tick Bite Tracker; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health briefing, May 5, 2026; CDC/WRCO reporting July 2026
- What it shows: 65 tick-bite ER visits per 100,000 nationally, highest rate since 2017; 25% increase in April 2026 vs. April 2025; Northeast and Midwest hardest hit
- What it does not prove: That a tick bite will result in disease; most tick bites do not transmit infection
-
What readers should know: Prevention and prompt removal reduce risk significantly; early Lyme disease responds well to antibiotics; late-stage disease does not
Who Faces the Greatest Risk?
The highest-risk groups for tick exposure and tick-borne disease include:
- Children aged 5 to 14, who have the highest rates of Lyme disease and are most likely to spend time in wooded and brushy environments
- Adults 55 to 70, who have the second-highest rates of Lyme disease nationally
- Outdoor workers, including landscapers, construction workers, farmers, and park staff
- Hikers, campers, and anyone participating in outdoor recreational activities in wooded or grassy areas
- Hunters and people who work with animals in tick-endemic regions
-
Immunocompromised individuals who may be at higher risk for more severe tick-borne illness
Symptoms and Warning Signs to Watch For
After a tick bite, watch for the following symptoms in the days and weeks that follow:
The bull's-eye rash (erythema migrans) is one of the most recognizable signs of early Lyme disease, appearing as a ring around the site of the bite that expands over days. Critically, the rash does not appear in all cases of Lyme disease. Up to 30% of people infected with Lyme disease do not develop a bull's-eye rash.
Symptoms that require prompt medical evaluation after a tick bite include:
- Fever, chills, or muscle aches within days to weeks of a bite
- Severe headache, especially with neck stiffness
- Rash of any kind near or distant from the bite site
- Facial drooping or weakness (a possible sign of neurological Lyme)
- Joint swelling or pain, especially in the knees
- Heart palpitations or shortness of breath (possible Lyme carditis)
- Confusion or sudden cognitive changes, which may indicate Powassan virus infection and require emergency evaluation
Powassan virus symptoms can include fever, headache, vomiting, weakness, seizures, and memory loss, and may progress rapidly. Anyone with these symptoms and a known or possible tick exposure should seek emergency care promptly.
The Full-Body Tick Check: What You Can Do Now
After any outdoor activity in tick habitat, perform a full-body check as soon as you come indoors, ideally before showering:
- Check all hair and the scalp thoroughly, separating sections with your fingers.
- Check inside and behind ears.
- Check the back of the neck.
- Check under the arms.
- Check inside the belly button.
- Check the waistband and along the top edge of underwear.
- Check between the legs and the groin.
- Check behind the knees.
- Check between toes and the soles of feet.
Use a hand mirror or ask someone to help check the back and scalp. Ticks are small, often the size of a sesame seed or smaller, and their bites are usually painless, so many go unnoticed without a careful check.
If you find an attached tick: Use fine-tipped tweezers and grasp the tick as close to the skin surface as possible. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Do not twist or jerk, which can cause the mouthparts to break off. Do not use petroleum jelly, nail polish, or heat to remove a tick. After removal, clean the bite site with rubbing alcohol or soap and water. Save the tick in a sealed bag or container for identification if you develop symptoms.
Cost and Access: What Patients Should Know
If you develop symptoms after a tick bite, see a clinician promptly. Early Lyme disease is typically treated with a standard course of oral antibiotics (doxycycline, amoxicillin, or cefuroxime), which are inexpensive and widely available. Most insurance plans cover evaluation and treatment for tick-borne illness.
The CDC recommends that clinicians evaluate patients clinically without requiring a tick to be tested, as commercial tick testing may produce unreliable results. Antibody testing for Lyme disease is most reliable three to four weeks after exposure; a negative test shortly after a bite does not rule out infection.
Prophylactic doxycycline may be offered after a high-risk tick bite (black-legged tick attached for 36 or more hours, in an area where Lyme is endemic) to prevent infection. This is a clinical decision to be made between patient and provider.
What Happens Next
The CDC's Tick Bite Tracker updates weekly with ER visit data. July and August are the months when Lyme disease diagnoses peak across most of the United States, meaning the season's worst period is current or still ahead. MedicalDaily will update tick season coverage as new CDC surveillance data are released.
The Bottom Line
Tick season in 2026 is producing ER visits at the highest rate since 2017, and the Northeast and Midwest are facing their worst seasons in recent years. The full-body tick check after every outdoor outing, showering within two hours of coming indoors, and using permethrin-treated clothing and EPA-registered repellents are the most effective tools available. Any fever, rash, or flu-like illness following a tick bite during peak season deserves prompt medical evaluation. Early treatment is highly effective. Delayed treatment is not.
