Officials at a university in Connecticut have raised concerns about the increasing prevalence of tickborne diseases affecting their campus community.

The University of Connecticut, alongside UConn Extension, recently issued warnings regarding the surge in Lyme disease cases. This illness, primarily transmitted by ticks, is particularly common in the Northeast region.

While precise numbers of affected students or staff remain unknown, specialists at the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (CVMDL) have noted a significant presence of ticks testing positive for Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium responsible for Lyme disease.

Annually, Connecticut records approximately 2,200 Lyme disease cases. However, experts suggest the true figure could be ten times higher due to underreporting and the disease’s symptoms often being mistaken for more common ailments.

Lyme disease is characterized by a distinctive bullseye rash and flu-like symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches, and fatigue. In more severe instances, it can lead to facial paralysis and memory complications.

Notably, some individuals, including celebrities like Bella Hadid and Justin Timberlake, experience persistent symptoms for years, which can result in severe fatigue, numbness, and cognitive difficulties.

CVMDL warned that while tick season tends to draw to a close in late fall, climate change has caused many ticks, including those that case Lyme disease, to no longer do dormant during the winter. 

Nationwide, Lyme disease surged 70 percent in 2022, the latest data available, compared to 2017-2019.

The University of Connecticut (pictured here) has reported an increase in cases of Lyme disease detected on campus

A person contracts Lyme disease from the bite of an infected black-legged tick, also called the deer tick, pictured above (stock image)

CVMDL told The Daily Campus, UConn’s student newspaper: ‘We live in a region where tick-borne illnesses are a considerable concern for human health, including students.

‘We have observed that a considerable number of ticks tested by the lab in the last five years were carrying Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.’

Borrelia burgdorferi is carried by blacklegged ticks, also called deer ticks, which are most common in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and North-Central US. Lyme disease is spread from deer ticks to humans after a tick has had its first blood meal from an infected host. 

The illness is easier to treat when caught early and doctors typically prescribe a 28-day regimen of antibiotics. 

However, because of the non-specific symptoms of Lyme disease, many cases can go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for years, leading to chronic Lyme disease.   

Generally, ticks must be attached to a person for at least 24 hours in order to transmit the infection. 

Performing tick checks after possible exposure is vital to quickly identify if you’ve been bitten and to remove the parasite. 

Overall, the US is seeing a record number of Lyme disease cases – recording 89,470 cases in 2023. And recent testing on human and tick samples suggests millions more Americans could be at risk because the tick that causes Lyme disease is spreading to new geographical areas.

The above map shows reported cases of Lyme disease in 2023

Lyme disease most often cases a bullseye rash, pictured above (stock image)

To avoid Lyme disease, experts recommend wearing long sleeves and long pants to prevent ticks from being able to attach themselves to your skin and perform thorough tick checks after spending time in the outdoors.

You can also wear repellant and treat clothing with acaricides, special pesticides used to kill ticks and mites.

Ticks can also infect animals, so it is important to check pets for the parasites or signs of a bite and give them preventatives.

If you do find a tick, use tweezers to remove it and save it so it can be identified.

Sara Tomis, UConn Extension’s assistant extension educator for One Health, told The Daily Campus: ‘It is important to recognize that managing tick risk is something that requires a really integrated approach.

‘If students have pets, have a service animal or work with the horses or livestock within the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, they should be thinking about how they are working with those animals and working to reduce the risk of tick exposure to both those animals and themselves.’