Ticks and Lyme Disease: Growing Awareness in Biltmore Forest
Biltmore Forest is a small town with a population of just under 1,500. Recent research uncovered 17 cases of Lyme disease in the area, but town manager Jonathan Kanipe mentioned he’s been hearing informal reports about the illness for quite some time.
It seems clear that the ticks responsible for Lyme disease are quite common in the area.
“We’ve had public works employees pulling ticks off themselves at what I’d call a pretty steady rate,” Kanipe shared. He remembered a day when he was walking in a parking lot to check out a spot for a future trail and found ticks on his hands. “It really startled me because I wasn’t even in the woods. I was just beside some grass,” he recounted.
Kanipe and Newman organized a community group to raise awareness about the dangers of tick-borne illnesses. Their efforts attracted the attention of researchers at UNC, leading to a published study where Kanipe and Newman contributed as citizen co-authors.
Lyme disease is the most widespread tick-borne illness in the U.S., with cases rising sharply since the mid-90s, largely in the Northeast and Upper Midwest where blacklegged ticks are prevalent. It’s estimated that nearly half a million people are diagnosed annually in the country.
As winters warm up, deer, mice, and other rodents adapt by moving to different regions. The ticks that feed on these animals follow along, spreading tick-borne illnesses and increasing infection rates nationwide.
An increasing number of communities face risks as infected ticks continue to expand geographically. Lars Eisen, a research epidemiologist at the CDC in Fort Collins, commented via email on the necessity for people to comprehend the evolving risks posed by Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. The Fort Collins lab also conducted testing for the ticks involved in the research.
Another strain of bacteria linked to Lyme, known as Borrelia mayonii, was previously found only in Minnesota and Wisconsin but has now been discovered in New York.
Meanwhile, Alpha-gal syndrome, a tick-borne condition that results in an allergy to red meat and other products, has historically been seen more in the East and Midwest but is now becoming more common in the Great Lakes and Western regions. Additionally, the Powassan virus, which can cause severe brain inflammation, reached record high cases in 2024.
Critical Need for Testing and Awareness
The spread of ticks seems to have outstripped public awareness of the threats they present and the capacity to test for the diseases they carry, particularly Lyme disease. While Lyme and similar illnesses can be treated with antibiotics, accurate diagnosis is vital.
A recent editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association pointed out that many doctors may rely on antibody tests that could take up to six weeks for results. This can delay accurate diagnoses and potentially lead to missed early infections.
“Current tests are reliable once patients have been infected for several weeks and exhibit long-term symptoms like Lyme arthritis, a severe swelling in large joints,” the author noted. “Better testing could not only enable earlier identification of Lyme disease but also help better define patients for clinical trials and biomarker research.”
Until further research is done, Johns Hopkins’ Soloski suggested that emergency room doctors and primary care physicians consider the possibility of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases in patients with otherwise unexplained symptoms, even in areas where these illnesses aren’t typically recognized.
“The environments that allow these ticks to thrive,” he remarked, “are only increasing.”
