Ticks carrying Lyme disease are gaining ground in North Carolina, study finds
A UNC-led study has identified a significant increase in Lyme disease-carrying blacklegged ticks in western North Carolina. Researchers found that 40% of adult ticks collected in a Buncombe County community tested positive for the bacteria that causes the illness.
Why it matters
This indicates a shift in the geographic range of tickborne diseases, posing a growing public health risk to residents in regions previously considered lower-risk.
North Carolina is facing an emerging threat from something so small, its bite can easily go unnoticed.
Newly published UNC-led research found the ticks that most commonly spread Lyme disease are gaining ground in North Carolina. Researchers found infection rates in western North Carolina comparable to those seen in parts of the Northeast historically associated with tickborne illness.
“If you were to do a similar study like this in New York or Pennsylvania, you might find 30% or 40% of the ticks are infected, but to see that here in western North Carolina is really striking,” said Dr. Ross Boyce, a UNC Health infectious diseases specialist and researcher with UNC School of Medicine.
Boyce has been studying ticks in western North Carolina as the region has undergone what he describes as significant change over the past decade.
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