The Northeast has seen a rise in tick-related hospitalizations this summer. State health officials and scientists are working to mitigate the issue. Scott C. Williams, a chief scientist with The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, said the increase in ticks can be attributed to warmer winters.
“There continue to be newer species of ticks introduced to the state, southern ticks expanding their range northward. With that, come new pathogens,” Williams said.
Subsequently, Connecticut hospitals have seen an increase in cases of tick-borne diseases, according to Dr. Arjet Gega of St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury.
"We've seen an increased number of anaplasmosis, which is one of the tick-borne diseases transmitted by our black-legged tick, the Ixodes Scapularis, which is our usual tick here in Connecticut," Gega said.
Symptoms of tick-borne illnesses are often non-specific, Gega said, including things like fatigue, fever, or a headache. This is why hypervigilance is important. Gega said, Connecticut doctors are always on high alert.
“I say that if you want to have one of these diseases, you want to have it here. Have it here in Connecticut and not in some other states. Why? Because physicians do look for these diseases here,” Gega said.
Primary care or emergency room physicians are able to diagnose tick-borne diseases when looking at things like a decreased white blood cell count and abnormalities in liver enzymes.
When combined with exhibited symptoms, the time of year, and Connecticut’s geography, tick-borne diseases are readily suspected and diagnosed. Fortunately, most incidents of tick-borne illness don’t result in hospitalizations.
Experts still say that prevention is the most important thing, urging residents who take to the outdoors to take necessary precautions. This includes wearing protective clothing or things like insect repellent socks. They also say if you’re spending time outdoors it’s important to check yourself for ticks after every outing.
“Sometimes people do get complacent, tick checks are really the number one way to make sure that you're not going to get any of the tick-borne diseases” Amy Lehaney, New Canaan’s health director, said.
To prioritize public awareness, New Canaan town officials are hosting monthly tick talks to inform residents about the dangers of tick-borne diseases.
Additionally, all Connecticut local health departments participate in a program in which residents can bring deer ticks in to be sent for testing. These programs have allowed officials to notice an increase. In June of 2024 the town of New Canaan submitted 13 ticks to the state Health Department, while in June of 2025 they submitted 20.
“The Connecticut agricultural station does test for six different tick-borne illnesses. Then those results get sent directly to the person who sent the tick up, as well as the health department. And we do follow up to make sure that everyone receives any positive results,” Lehaney said.
The efficiency of this process is extremely important particularly because of things like prophylaxis treatment, the administration of antibiotics to prevent Lyme disease.
Prophylaxis is recommended within 72 hours of the initial bite. This is why health officials urge residents to report tick bites to the local health department and their doctor as soon as possible.
Behind the scenes, scientists like Williams are working on Integrated Tick Management (ITM) strategies which use competitive grant funding, often from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to fund research into various mitigation methods.
Luckily, funding has remained high for these initiatives, Wiliams said. This continued research will ensure that rising tick populations can be controlled in the future. Williams and his team are currently focused on “host-targeted systems.”
“It's similar to people treating their pets with a flea-and-tick product. We're trying the same strategy on free-ranging deer and mice, and we're trying to see how effective that can be.”
Williams believes this strategy might have a broader impact than area specific pesticide treatment. Strategies like host-targeted systems will also help protect beneficial insects and pollinators from the harm of synthetic compounds in yard sprays.
But in the end, “there's no good tick years. It's always a bad tick year,” Williams said. Still, scientists and health officials alike believe these bad tick years can be managed through public education and dedicated research.