Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted through infected blacklegged tick bites. It's the most common vector-borne disease in the United States with about 476,000 cases diagnosed annually.
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Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. If caught early with the characteristic bull's-eye rash, it's easily treated with antibiotics. However, delayed treatment can lead to serious complications affecting joints, heart, and nervous system.
Transmitted through infected blacklegged tick bites. Ticks must be attached 36-48 hours. Not contagious person-to-person.
Période de Contagiosité : Not contagious between people
4 countries with reported activity. Updated from real-time surveillance data.
Renseignements en temps réel issus de la surveillance sanitaire mondiale et de la surveillance par IA
Sources de données : BEACON, ProMED, OMS, CDC et plus de 50 agences nationales de santé
✓ Données en direct mises à jour en temps réel depuis les sources de santé mondiales
A new approach to fighting Lyme disease could one day be as easy as buying a bag of garden pellets from a home improvement store.
Researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) are developing a non-toxic biologic designed to reduce the spread of Lyme disease before it reaches people or pets. Rather than focusing on treating humans, the team is targeting the small wild animals that help spread the bacteria to ticks in the first place.
The product could eventually be sold in big-box
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"I had a few meltdowns there where I wasn't sure if we were losing him."
That's how Laura Redman described watching her husband Peter's health rapidly deteriorate after what first appeared to be an ordinary tick bite.
The Ontario government is urging residents to protect themselves from tick bites this summer as cases of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses continue to rise, according to a Ministry of Health news release.
Peter Redman's experience is just one of the many cases that are
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Changing deer populations, rising temperatures and other factors are driving ticks and their diseases into new areas.
Summer is peak tick season, and with the pests comes the risk of Lyme, spotted fevers and other tick-borne illnesses.
For decades, people across the United States have generally known what to expect from the ticks in their area. In the Northeast, where rates of E.R. visits for tick bites are the highest, for example, the blacklegged tick and the Lyme disease it spreads has long
đź“° 13 news sources reporting on this story.
Spring's warmer weather lures people outdoors, and into possible contact with ticks that spread Lyme disease. Already, the 2026 tick season is booming. On April 23, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that emergency room visits due to tick bites are at their highest level since 2017. That may portend an especially severe season for Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. State health departments reported more than 89,000 cases of Lyme disease in 2023, the last year for which data is available. But public health experts believe that close to 500,000 people in the U.S. get Lyme disease every year. Lyme disease can be tricky, because people often don't notice tick bites and may overlook early symptoms of an infection. But left untreated, the infection can cause serious ...
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Scientists have identified a group of immune molecules that could help doctors catch Lyme disease earlier and identify patients whose symptoms linger long after treatment ends.
The findings, led by Tufts University School of Medicine, could pave the way for better tests that catch Lyme disease in its earliest stages, when antibiotics work best, and help doctors identify patients still struggling with symptoms after treatment.
Why Current Tests Fall Short
Lyme disease is easiest to treat soon a
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Tick sightings and cases of Lyme disease are increasing in Canada, but likely still being underdiagnosed, according to one infectious disease specialist. Data from eTick.ca shows that tick reports are up 38.5 per cent nationwide compared to the same time last year. Meanwhile, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, 7,105 cases of Lyme disease - the highest on record - were reported in 2025. Health officials in Ontario, the province where most tick sightings originate, reported that there have been 359 cases of Lyme disease in the province since January, with 11 cases reported this week alone. "And that's still likely an underestimate of the true burden of Lyme disease in the country," Dr. Isaac Bogoch told CP24 on Tuesday morning. "We have to do more, for example, like having conv...
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For Lyme Disease Awareness Month in May, one woman revisited her family's long battle with the illness -- and highlighted an irony that still makes them laugh years later: the family dog was diagnosed faster than any of them.
Makalea, known on Instagram as @heymakalea, has spent years raising awareness about Lyme disease after going a decade without an accurate diagnosis. She wasn't the only one searching for answers. Her three younger siblings were also struggling with unexplained symptoms for
Experts share tips to avoid the blood-sucking pests that can transmit Lyme disease and other illnesses on to humans
I won't go into gory detail about the tick I found latched behind my ear approximately 35 hours after a hike in early June. Suffice it to say, the parasite was well fed, and I was horrified.
I am far from alone in making such a disgusting discovery. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), emergency room visits for tick bites have been unusually high in t
đź“° 37 news sources reporting on this story.
Matthew Mealer holds up his targets at the Busch Shooting Range in Weldon Spring, Missouri, in May. Mealer said he's generally skeptical of new vaccines but might consider one for Lyme disease if it proves safe and effective. Kyle Pyatt for KFF Health News hide caption
It's tick season, possibly the worst in a decade.
More and more Americans are being exposed to these parasites as climate change expands the range where they can survive. That means more people are also exposed to the bevy of hea
đź“° 12 news sources reporting on this story.
Whether your dog loves to hike or always wants to run around in the nearest field, they probably can't resist a patch of brush-filled woods or a patch of tall grass. The only problem? Ticks love those environments, too.
These teeny-tiny parasites can latch onto your pup and potentially transmit serious diseases like Lyme disease. With the proper precautions and awareness, you can help keep your pup safe from ticks. Here's what every pet owner needs to know about identifying and removing ticks, p
đź“° 19 news sources reporting on this story.
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Informations fiables provenant des principales organisations de santé
Directives officielles des Centers for Disease Control and Prevention des États-Unis
Voir les Ressources du CDC →Surveillance mondiale des maladies et directives de l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé
Voir les Ressources de l'OMS →Les informations sur les maladies sur Virus Watcher sont révisées par notre Épidémiologiste en Chef, ancien analyste principal du CDC pour les prévisions FluSight. Les données épidémiques sont agrégées à partir de sources vérifiées notamment BEACON, ProMED, OMS, CDC et plus de 50 agences nationales de santé. Ces informations sont à des fins éducatives et ne doivent pas remplacer les conseils médicaux professionnels.
Dernière révision : 2026-08-13
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