Michigan residents face rising tick bites and Lyme disease
Updated
Updated · Detroit Free Press · May 5
Michigan residents face rising tick bites and Lyme disease
8 articles · Updated · Detroit Free Press · May 5
US emergency-room visits for tick bites reached 114 per 100,000 in late April 2026, up from a four-year average of 59.6, while Michigan confirmed 2,167 Lyme cases in 2025.
Officials say exploding tick populations are spreading beyond wooded areas into suburban and urban Michigan, increasing risks from Lyme-causing borrelia burgdorferi and other tick-borne microbes.
Health agencies urge people to avoid brushy areas, use DEET or permethrin-treated clothing, check themselves and pets for ticks, and manage yards to reduce exposure.
As ticks invade suburbs, can smarter urban design become our next line of defense against Lyme disease?
With a new Lyme vaccine showing high efficacy, how soon could it turn the tide against Michigan's exploding tick crisis?
Is Michigan's Lyme crisis a true epidemic, or are new diagnostic rules just making thousands of invisible cases visible?