Education and precaution keys to preventing tickborne illnesses

With six weeks of summer left on the calendar, the 2026 tick season is far from over.

Infection rates for Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, Powassan virus, Alpha-gal Syndrome and other serious tickborne illnesses have held steady or risen year-over-year through much of the New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania tri-state. Regional public health officials and infectious disease specialists urge residents and seasonal visitors to be aware of the tick species found in the region and the potential for disease transmission from each. And that includes pets as well.

Assessing tri-state tick populations and illnesses

The most common ticks affecting humans in the region are the Black-Legged (Deer) Tick, the American Dog Tic, and the Lone Star Tick, while pet and livestock owners should also be aware of smaller populations of the Brown Dog Tick and Asian Longhorn Tick that could cause health problems for their animals.

According to Dr. Robert Ollar, a retired medical school professor and microbiologist who has worked on advisory boards for the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, each tick carries its own set of disease concerns.

Ollar currently serves as the vice chair and consulting microbiologist for the Pike-Wayne Counties Tickborne Diseases Task Force based in Milford, Pa. The task force provides extensive educational materials for the public and has worked closely with the Dr. Jane Huffman Wildlife Genetics Institute at East Stroudsburg University to produce a thorough tick census to analyze populations and disease vectors.

All of this work, Ollar hopes, will lead to greater tick awareness and a decline in tickborne illnesses.

“We live in an area that leads the nation in tickborne diseases,” Ollar said. “The more we can educate people, the more funding we receive for research, the better off we’ll be in the fight against these illnesses.”

Some of Ollar’s work includes a Pennsylvania-statewide initiative to train physicians on the signs and symptoms of a variety of tickborne diseases. He recently also published a brief in the EC Microbiology Journal outlining the diseases carried by each of the northeast’s endemic tick populations, aimed at categorizing illnesses by carrier and emphasizing that tick bites can often transmit multiple bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens that present very differently at diagnosis.

“We need doctors to have a basic understanding of the diseases beyond just being Lyme literate,” Ollar said. “We’re seeing cases of Powassan virus in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which can lead to encephalitis and meningitis, and we’re also seeing Alpha-gal Syndrome, which is actually caused by an antigen, not a pathogen. When a tick transmits those antigens to a human, that’s what causes an immune response when that person eats red meat or poultry. It is an allergy to alpha-gal markers in the meat.”

In addition to these illnesses, cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Bartonella, better known as Cat Scratch Fever, have also been reported in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Ollar indicated that it’s in cases like these, and in more frequently occurring illnesses like Lyme and anaplasmosis, that physicians need to look beyond what seems obvious and test for tickborne diseases.

“Many tickborne diseases can mimic the symptoms of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis, among others. But we’ve been able to work with Medical Diagnostic Laboratories in Trenton, New Jersey, to identify additional potential pathogens,” Ollar said, “That includes bacterial variations previously only found in Europe. These were interesting findings because the patients affected had not traveled outside the United States.”

Orange County, N.Y., does not track alpha-gal syndrome and has not yet seen large populations of the Lone Star Tick that carries it. According to Rebecca Sheehan, Orange County’s Director of Public Information & Media Relations, the county’s 2025 data is still provisional, but shows a higher prevalence of Lyme disease and anaplasmosis than ehrlichiosis.

Data collected by the New York State Department of Health shows steady occurrences of Lyme disease from 2022 through 2024, with 940, 1,207 and 964 cases, respectively.

Recognizing signs of tickborne illness

In Sussex County, N.J, County Epidemiologist Jacqueline Luthcke tracks reported cases of tickborne illness, noting that disease rates have remained relatively steady for the past four years.

With 2,957 cases documented in Sussex County between Jan 1, 2023, and July 31, 2026, a small but rising percentage of which are alpha-gal syndrome, Luthcke urges those who’ve been bitten by a tick to follow safe removal practices and monitor themselves for illness for up to a month after the bite.

These are the current best practices, according to Luthcke, who uses CDC guidance for informing the public:

Remove the tick as soon as you’re able, using fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible.

Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick.

Clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.

Dispose of the tick by flushing it down the toilet or save it in rubbing alcohol or a sealed bag/container if you’d like it identified by a healthcare provider.

Watch for symptoms for 30 days and call your healthcare provider if you experience: rash, fever, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, or joint swelling and pain.

Luthcke also said that treatment is based on symptoms, exposure history and in some cases blood test results, so be sure to give your healthcare provider a thorough background, including the date of the tick bite.

The same advice goes for pets, and owners are urged to use preventative measures as prescribed by their veterinarians. “The CDC doesn’t recommend (immediately) taking antibiotics after a tick bite to prevent tickborne disease, although in some high-Lyme areas, a single dose may lower the risk,” Luthcke said. “Consider talking to your health care provider right away if you’re concerned. However, many (confirmed) cases of bacterial tickborne illnesses are then treated with a short course of antibiotics.”

Take caution to prevent illness

Residents of and visitors to in the New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania tri-state have a wealth of resources at their fingertips to learn more about tickborne illnesses and how to prevent disease:

The New York Department of Health maintains a Tickborne Illness resource page, including an interactive Tick Risk map.

The New Jersey Department of Health’s Tickborne Diseases & Conditions webpage contains educational materials for the public and healthcare professionals, and for those who enjoy digging into data, there is the state’s interactive Vectorborne Disease Dashboard.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Health has similar tools, compiled for the public on its Tickborne Diseases webpage.

The common message of state and local officials is that tick awareness and taking precautions are key to preventing tickborne illnesses. And if the mission of the Pike-Wayne Counties Tickborne Diseases Task Force is to educate the public, no one could be as passionate a spokesperson as Ollar. Like Luthcke in New Jersey, he also urges tick awareness and preparation before heading outside.

“Wear long pants, sleeves and high socks,” Ollar said, “Wear a hat! We don’t want to see anyone out in the woods or the high grass without those. Mostly, our mission is to tell people, don’t be afraid, but protect yourself!”