Overview
- - CDC tracking shows about 71 tick-related emergency visits per 100,000 people in the most recent week, up from roughly 30 per 100,000 at this time last year.
- - The Northeast is seeing the heaviest load, with Maryland clinics and hospitals reporting an early surge in tick-bite patients.
- - ExpressCare’s Dr. Jonathan Thierman says his centers saw about 160 bites that looked consistent with Lyme and he is prescribing preventive antibiotics for those cases.
- - Mercy Medical Center’s Dr. Hannah Goldberg advises most people to start with a primary care visit and to use the ER for worsening fever or other red flags after initial care.
- - Experts urge prevention with long sleeves, DEET or picaridin repellents, and tick checks, noting that an engorged tick attached for 24 to 36 hours raises the chance of Lyme transmission.