Expert issues warning amid skyrocketing cases of dangerous disease: 'Can be such a nasty, debilitating thing'

Lyme disease cases are skyrocketing in Ohio, and experts say it's related to changing deer migration patterns and hotter, wetter weather.

What's happening?

Lyme disease cases have been steadily increasing for the past few years in Ohio, according to data from the state's Department of Health.

WVXU summarized the trend, reporting that there were 749 cases by July 10, 2025, compared to 429 in early July 2024. The news station reported Lyme disease rates began to increase in 2023; that year saw 1,301 cases compared to 554 the previous year.

According to Timothy McDermott, a Lyme disease expert at Ohio State University, this uptick is partially tied to a change in deer migration patterns — Lyme disease-carrying blacklegged deer ticks primarily feed on white-tailed deer — along with the warmer, more humid weather that's being driven by an overheating planet.

"We're seeing increased warmth and increased humidity. Those are things that most of the tick species enjoy," he told WVXU. "They need a certain amount of humidity in order to survive."

Why is Lyme disease important?

"Lyme disease can be such a nasty, debilitating thing," Valerie Wallace, a communicable diseases nurse with Tuscarawas County Health Department, told the news outlet. "The longer you have Lyme disease, the more likely you are to have stronger and more severe symptoms, especially those that might affect the heart."

According to the Mayo Clinic, Lyme disease evolves through three stages.

The first one is commonly accompanied by a rash around the bite site and symptoms like headache, fever, extreme tiredness, joint stiffness, muscle aches and pains, and swollen lymph nodes.

If it progresses to Stage 2, the rash will expand to other parts of the body, and other symptoms include neck pain or stiffness, muscle weakness on one or both sides of the face, eye pain or vision loss, and irregular heartbeats.

Stage 3 is known as late disseminated disease and is often accompanied by continued symptoms from previous stages. Patients in the U.S. will often develop arthritis in large joints at this point.

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Lyme disease-carrying ticks are expanding their active seasons and shifting further northward and westward thanks to rising global temperatures.

For instance, Montana officials recently announced that one resident found a Lyme disease-carrying deer tick on his dog there, an anomaly for the state. And one group of scientists found Lyme disease risk doubled in the Canadian province of Quebec and tripled in Manitoba between 2000 and 2015. 

What's being done about tick-borne diseases?

The most important thing that people can do to protect themselves from Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses like AGS and Rocky Mountain spotted fever is to avoid being bitten by ticks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages people to walk in the middle of trails to avoid these tiny external parasites and to keep their legs covered. Spraying footwear, clothing, and camping gear with insecticide that includes 0.5% permethrin can also help.

Scientists are also developing a tick-repelling drug for humans that works similarly to the chewable tablets given to dogs.

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