CDC Issues Warning on Tick Bites, Lyme Disease – NTD News

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on April 23 said emergency room visits for tick bites are higher than normal in many parts of the country and warned people about the serious diseases that ticks can cause.
Thirty-four per 100,000 emergency room visits were due to tick bites in March, according to CDC data, the highest March rate on record dating back to 2017.
In the most recent week available, April 5 to April 11, 85 per 100,000 emergency room visits were due to tick bites, the highest rate for that period in available CDC data.
“Visits to emergency rooms for tick bites are higher than normal in many parts of the country right now,” the CDC said in an April 23 statement.
The agency is urging people to take steps to protect themselves and family members from tick bites, including using permethrin on clothing and insect spray registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the body.
“Tick season is here and these tiny biters can make you seriously sick,” Alison Hinckley, an epidemiologist at the CDC, said in a statement. The good news is you have options to help prevent tick bites when you spend time outdoors: You can wear EPA-registered insect repellent and permethrin-treated clothing, do tick checks, and remove attached ticks as quickly as possible.”
She added, “These simple steps can go a long way in protecting you and your family from diseases spread by ticks. And if you develop a rash or fever in the days to weeks after a bite, or after being in an area with ticks, seek medical care promptly.”
Ticks are small arachnids that feed on infected deer and other wildlife. Ticks attach to people when they brush against high grass or other vegetation.
The CDC estimates that more than 31 million people are bitten by a tick each year.
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease. An estimated 476,000 people receive treatment for the disease each year, according to the CDC.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in 2025, held a roundtable on Lyme disease, during which he said it “is an example of a chronic disease that has long been dismissed with patients receiving inadequate care and, at times, derision,” and that “the gaslighting of Lyme patients is over.” The government’s work on Lyme disease includes a study using blood markers to identify the mechanisms underlying neurological symptoms associated with Lyme.
Rep. John James (R-Mich.) told Kennedy during a recent hearing in Washington that both his wife and son had Lyme disease but that the disease only appeared through high-cost testing, rather than standard testing.
“My concern is that many Michiganders who are suffering from unexplained symptoms may think they’ve been tested for Lyme, when in reality they have not because the standard test is not thorough enough,” James said. “What can we do together to make sure that people are getting thorough and accurate testing for Lyme disease?”
Kennedy said the matter is a government priority, including investing “large amounts of money” into Lyme disease research and creating a webpage that directs people to doctors with expertise in treating the illness.
“And absolutely, we should be doing prescreening for people to see if they have it,” Kennedy said. “So many millions and millions of Americans have this disease and don’t know it. And it’s absolutely debilitating to their lives.”
AGS can be serious or life-threatening and cause an allergic reaction to red meat. Symptoms include flushing, hives, itchy skin, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and anaphylaxis. In the United States, AGS is most often linked to the lone star tick, but other ticks—especially the blacklegged tick—have not been ruled out as carriers.

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