Connecticut ER Tick Bite Visits Hit Highest Level Since 2017 as Lyme Risk Stays Elevated
Updated
Updated · Eyewitness News 3 · May 21
Connecticut ER Tick Bite Visits Hit Highest Level Since 2017 as Lyme Risk Stays Elevated
7 articles · Updated · Eyewitness News 3 · May 21
CDC data show Connecticut emergency-room visits for tick bites are at their highest level for this point in the year since 2017.
Doctors linked the rise to heavier outdoor activity by people, insects and animals, increasing contact with ticks as warmer-season activity picks up.
24 to 48 hours is the key exposure window doctors watch; they urge residents to check clothes and their whole body, shower promptly and seek primary or urgent care if concerns develop.
Connecticut sits in a 14-state high-risk region that accounts for about 90% of confirmed U.S. Lyme disease cases, and the state reports a couple thousand human cases each year.
Nearly 500,000 people are treated for Lyme disease annually in the U.S., underscoring the broader public-health risk beyond the state where the illness was first identified.
Beyond Lyme, are invasive ticks and new pathogens turning backyards into a bigger public health minefield?
As a promising Lyme vaccine nears approval, will it be enough to halt the escalating tick-borne disease crisis?
With antibiotics failing many, could psychedelic therapy be the unexpected answer for chronic Lyme disease symptoms?