The number of confirmedLyme disease cases in Washtenaw County has tripled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and is now at a 10-year high.
61 cases were identified in 2022, with 44 of them thought to have occurred within the county.
The health department’s epidemiology program manager, Laura Bauman, says they think a few factors are contributing to the increase, like a spike in the local tick population.
“Not only are they becoming more abundant across the whole county, but there is also a higher rate of infection in the ticks."
Bauman says people have also been spending more time outdoors since the start of the pandemic, which also increases a person’s chance of encountering ticks.
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