WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - New research from the University of North Carolina found that blacklegged ticks, which are the main carriers of Lyme disease, are becoming more common in North Carolina.
The study looked at Biltmore Forest, a community in Buncombe County near Asheville, and found 19 adults who said they had developed a tickborne illness while living in the area. Seventeen of them reported having Lyme disease.
'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.
Between November 2024 and August 2025, researchers collected ticks from 25 homes in Biltmore Forest. They then tested the ticks for bacteria that can cause disease in people. Of the total collected ticks, about 75% were blacklegged ones.
Among the adult blacklegged ticks tested, 40% carried Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, suggesting that blacklegged ticks and the diseases they carry may be spreading farther south. The bacteria were also found in three of the seven young blacklegged ticks tested.
The researchers also found two other types of disease-causing bacteria. One is linked to anaplasmosis, while the other causes hard tick relapsing fever. Notably, these bacteria were found less often than the Lyme disease bacteria.
Due to the growing risk of tickborne diseases, 10 western North Carolina counties now recommend a single dose of antibiotics within 72 hours of finding a tick attached to the body. Veterinarians are also encouraging more pet owners to consider Lyme disease vaccination for their animals.
'Lyme disease, unlike some of the other tickborne illness diseases, it does take the tick a while to actually transmit the bacteria to the person,' Boyce advised. 'That's where tick checks can make a difference.'
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
