CDC Study Confirms 39.6% of North Carolina Deer Ticks Carry Lyme Bacteria
Updated
Updated · NBC News · Aug 13
CDC Study Confirms 39.6% of North Carolina Deer Ticks Carry Lyme Bacteria
3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Aug 13
Summary
Research published Thursday found Lyme-carrying blacklegged ticks firmly established in Biltmore Forest, North Carolina, confirming the disease threat has spread farther south than long assumed.
From 373 ticks collected on 22 household lawns between November 2024 and August 2025, 76.9% were blacklegged ticks and 39.6% of adult blacklegged ticks tested positive for Borrelia burgdorferi.
The study also identified North Carolina ticks carrying Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia miyamotoi for the first time, broadening concern beyond Lyme to other flu-like tick-borne illnesses.
Doctors in the region are being urged to consider tick-borne disease sooner, after residents including one woman with Lyme said diagnosis was delayed for years because clinicians assumed the illness was uncommon locally.
The findings fit a wider U.S. shift: Lyme already affects nearly 500,000 people diagnosed annually, and warming winters are helping ticks and their animal hosts expand into new regions.
With ticks carrying northern diseases invading Southern lawns, is your doctor prepared to catch an infection they were taught doesn't exist here?
If standard tests miss early infections, how many patients are currently suffering from misdiagnosed tick-borne illnesses masquerading as depression or anxiety?
Lyme Disease Surges in North Carolina: 2026 Biltmore Forest Study Reveals Northern-Level Tick Infection Rates and Expanding Public Health Crisis
Overview
This report reveals how climate change and ecological shifts are driving a surge of Lyme disease in North Carolina. Warmer winters let ticks survive longer, while reforestation and booming deer populations create ideal habitats for ticks and their rodent hosts. As blacklegged ticks migrate south and become more aggressive, humans come into frequent contact, raising infection rates. Local studies confirm high tick infection rates and new pathogens, while outdated diagnostic tools and clinical blind spots delay treatment. In response, new molecular tests and public health initiatives are emerging, but prevention and education remain crucial as tick-borne diseases rapidly expand.