Tick season is upon us and according to Upstate Medical University’s resident expert, ticks are carrying more diseases than just Lyme.

Saravanan Thangamani, PhD, runs the Upstate Tick Testing Laboratory, a citizen science program that tests ticks sent in by area residents. He said that of the 442 ticks submitted to the lab from March 15 to May 6, 34.8 percent of the deer ticks submitted carried Borrelia burgdorferi (causes Lyme disease); 11 percent of the deer ticks carried Babesia microti (causes Babesiosis); and 18 percent of the deer ticks carried Anaplasma phagocytophilum (causes Anaplasmosis).

Deer ticks are just one of 14 tick species that have been tested by the lab.

“Based on the data, it is clear that Babesia-positive and Anaplasma-positive ticks are also emerging in addition to Lyme disease-positive ticks,” said Thangamani, professor of microbiology who is director of the SUNY Center for Vector-Borne Diseases. “This puts humans and pets at increased risk of acquiring a tick-borne disease. Based on the trend in tick submission I have observed thus far, I expect a tick season that is worse than the previous years.”

Thangamani said the 322 ticks sent in during that time frame represents a 217 percent increase in the number of ticks submitted to the lab during the same time frame in 2024. He adds that the rate of prevalence of Babesia and Anaplasma-positive ticks has been steadily increasing over the past few years.  

“The risks of Babesiosis and Anaplasmosis are comparable to Lyme and the same recommendations apply,” he said. “The public needs to be vigilant to protect themselves from any tick bites. One-third of the ticks carry at least one disease-causing agent. A single tick bite can transmit multiple disease-causing agents. There are no vaccines against tick-borne diseases, and that the most effective way to prevent tick-borne diseases is to minimize exposure to ticks.”

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection. Early symptoms can include a characteristic skin rash, fever, headache and fatigue. If left untreated, Lyme disease can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system, causing more severe symptoms. 

The community-engaged tick surveillance program, started by Thangamani in 2019, relies on the general public to become citizen scientists and submit to the lab ticks they find on themselves, on their pets or in their yards. The project helps the lab track tick hot spots and the prevalence of tick-borne diseases across the state.

With the data collected through this program, Thangamani and his team created a tickMAP^™ to track the emergence of ticks and tick-borne disease-causing agents in New York.

Since the tick testing program started in June 2019, almost 35,000 ticks have been tested. Of those, 75.3 percent were deer ticks; 11.1 percent were American dog ticks; 7.4 percent were Lone Star ticks and 6.2 % were other ticks. Roughly one-third (32.9 percent) of the deer ticks carry Borrelia burgdorferi (causes Lyme disease); 9.2 percent of the deer ticks carry Babesia microti (causes Babesiosis); 7.4 percent of the deer ticks carry Anaplasma phagocytophilum (causes Anaplasmosis). These are the three most common tick-borne diseases in the United States. 

Thangamani said there has been an overall decrease in the ticks submitted now that the service is no longer free, however Upstate has instituted new fees as low as $10 to encourage the public to have ticks tested. Having ticks tested helps people assess their risk and enables them to seek expedited healthcare solutions.

For information on ticks in your area and how to submit them, visit the Tick Testing Laboratory website at www.nyticks.org.

“Knowing what ticks carry helps individuals gauge the risks and pursue timely health care options,” Thangamani said.

In a 2022 paper published on Nature.com, Thangamani explored where ticks were more likely to attach to humans. The research team found that the infected ticks preferred the chest area (19.89 compared to 15.81 percent for uninfected), the midsection (14.85 percent to 12.90 percent) and the groin and upper thigh (28.91 percent to 25.41 percent.)

“This means that the infected tick’s behavior is altered when they start crawling on us to find a particular place to feed,” Thangamani said.

Upstate has developed a coordinated push in examining Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. It has undertaken research examining a new blood test to more accurately detect Lyme disease as well as a Lyme disease vaccine. In 2023, Upstate’s Global Health and Translational Sciences hosted a Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Summit that featured presentations from some leading Lyme disease experts.

Here are some tick safety tips:

—Apply tick repellent to your skin and clothing, especially your shoes and socks. Wear long pants and pull your socks over your pant leg. When you’re out, stay on the trail.

—When you come home, make sure you do a thorough tick check, focusing on your thighs, groin area and the back of your head. Then shower. Also, put the clothing you wore outside in the dryer at high heat for 10 minutes to kill any ticks that may be hiding. Deer ticks are commonly found on the thighs/groin, while American dog ticks are most commonly found on the head.

—Since dogs are much less likely to stay on the trail, ticks can hide in long hair and thick fur. Make sure you check your dogs as well and talk to your veterinarian about vaccines and other prevention methods.

—If you find a tick on yourself or your pet, use tweezers to pull it straight out. Position the tweezers directly under the spot where the tick is attached to the skin and pull upward with steady pressure. Do not twist or jerk the tick. Upon removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite site with rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer.

Caption: A tick being processed for testing.