Where Can I Get Lyme?

Hiking path at Mt. Rainier National Park with green meadows & mountain peaks on a clear day.

What I find fascinating about working with Lyme disease patients is the variety of stories on where people contract this illness. Beaches of California? Check. Deep in the woods in the southeast? Check, check. In their backyard of the urban home in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle? Check, check, check.

There are multiple tick species in the USA, Ixodes scapularis, along the East Coast and Ixodes pacificus along the West Coast, and these two ticks have been reported in 43 states in the continental US. What’s more, different ticks species have been noted in Europe, Asia, parts of Africa, and South America.

These ticks are everywhere.

Ticks bite and infect mammals, birds, and reptiles. This can complicate someone’s exposure risk with the large variety of vectors. With that being said, where someone lives is not exactly indicative of their risk. This is because of human travel, migratory vectors (think birds), and pets move around.

While Lyme disease can be contracted at any time of year, and during the spring and summer months in North America, we can expect to see greater increases in exposure risk because of the overall warmer weather. In places that have relatively warm winters, like California, the incidence of Lyme does not have much variability throughout the year. Those of us in less temperate climates will likely see this greater increase.

Being aware of your risk is paramount. Vectors can hitch a ride on your clothing and pets, so it’s best to thoroughly check yourself and your loved ones after time outside.

While this can be difficult to prevent (and tedious), though there are ways to mitigate your chances of exposure and contracting Lyme disease.