ROANOKE, Va. – Welcome to What’s Going Around, where we look at trending health topics and local respiratory virus data in the Roanoke region and across Virginia. Thanks to a partnership with Johns Hopkins University and the Center for Outbreak Response Innovation, the station can show localized disease data for the community. This week, we’re talking about ticks.
Recommended Videos
Tick season is underway, and emergency department visits for tick bites are climbing. In the Northeast, ER visits were approximately 44 percent higher in April compared with the same period last year, reaching their highest reported level since 2017, according to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Health Security. May data is still being collected.
As of May 15, for every 100,000 total emergency department visits in the Northeast, 73 of those visits were for tick bite incidents this year, the most of any region in the country. That region leads the Midwest, South Central, Southeast and Western regions in reported tick bite visits so far in 2026.
In April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that emergency department visits for tick bites are higher than usual across much of the country. In all regions except the South-Central United States, weekly rates of emergency department visits for tick bites are the highest for this time of year since 2017.
Who is most affected?
Children between the ages of birth and 9 years old currently have the most recorded emergency department visits for tick bites in the Northeast, with 138 male children and 158 female children affected. Adults between the ages of 70 and 79 have the second-highest recorded numbers in the region, with 109 male and 81 female emergency department visits reported due to tick bites.
Every year, an estimated 31 million people in the United States are bitten by a tick, according to the CDC. Lyme disease is the most common tickborne illness in the country, with an estimated 476,000 patients treated for Lyme disease each year. Activity is elevated across much of the Northeast.
While there are 16 tick species in Virginia, only a few species commonly bite people, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
What to watch for
Early symptoms of Lyme disease may include fever, fatigue, headache, muscle or joint aches and sometimes a rash. Anyone who develops symptoms following a tick bite or time outdoors should contact a health care provider and mention any possible tick exposures.
Health officials recommend three simple steps to reduce the risk of tick bites: repel, cover and check. Using an EPA-registered insect repellent, wearing long sleeves and pants outdoors and checking yourself, children and pets for ticks after spending time outside can all help reduce exposure. If a tick is found, remove it promptly with fine-tipped tweezers pulling in an upwards motion.