9 Surprising US States Where Lyme is on the Rise

The majority of U.S. Lyme disease cases occur in Washington D.C. and 15 states in the northeast and upper midwest, including:

  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Minnesota
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin

Lyme disease has been found in all 50 states and is the most prolific vector-borne disease in the United States.

Scientists believe the rapid expansion of Lyme and tick-borne illnesses are associated with warming temperatures, disease spread across species, reforestation, suburbanization, and globalization.

Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.
Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.

Over the past two decades, seven new tick-borne germs that can cause illness have been identified in the United States: Borrelia mayonii, Borrelia miyamotoi, Ehrlichia ewingii, Ehrlichia muris eauclairensis, Heartland virus, Rickettsia parkeri, and Rickettsia species 364D. The geographic range of some ticks also continues to increase. The lone star tick continues to expand from the southeastern United States into the northern and mid-western states. A new tick species, Haemaphysalis longicornis (the Asian longhorned tick) has been identified for the first time in the United States. The number of counties with deer ticks (aka “blacklegged tick”) responsible for most cases of Lyme disease in the United States also has more than doubled over the past twenty years. Lyme disease accounted for 82% of all tick-borne disease reports from 2004–2016. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Lyme disease data’s most recent year is from 2018.

Where Lyme Disease is Increasing

  1. Alabama
  2. Arizona – the number one state for increases in Lyme disease cases, according to a Quest Diagnostics study.
  3. Florida – the second most active state in the study, with a 77% increase in Lyme cases between 2015 and 2017
  4. Georgia – had the highest increase in rates of Lyme in the U.S.
  5. Illinois
  6. Indiana
  7. Ohio – the number of Lyme disease cases has increased every year since 2010
  8. North Carolina
  9. Texas – CDC reports Lyme disease cases in the double digits going back to 2009

Click here to view the CDC map of confirmed cases.

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