Health officials issue warning about Lyme disease as tick season ramps up
Some hospitals are seeing an uptick in tick-related visits.
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Hospital visits related to tick bites are up by 25% nationwide this month when compared with April of last year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that each year, over 400,000 people who are bitten by ticks are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease.
In New Jersey, the Department of Health says the number of cases is relatively high compared with other states. There were 6,256 cases of Lyme disease in 2024.
For example, Ocean County saw 570 people contract Lyme disease in 2025.
“You have to take tick bites and Lyme disease very seriously. In Ocean County, we have some of the highest rates in the state," said Brian Lippai, a spokesman for the Health Department.
The Ocean County Health Department is trying to warn residents about the dangers of tick bites by reminding people to use insect repellent with DEET, stay out of tall grass and check themselves and their pets for ticks.
Lyme disease affects the central nervous system, heart and joints.
The CDC says anyone who experiences a bite should be looking for symptoms that include fever, fatigue, headache and a bullseye rash on the surface of the skin.
Rutgers University has a program called “NJ Ticks for Science.” They want the ticks you find so that they can be tested and used to create a map to track trends of where the bugs are found.
