For years, we’ve been told that blacklegged ticks — the ones that spread Lyme disease — are mostly a problem for the Northeast and Upper Midwest. If you weren’t in one of the 15 “high‑incidence” states, you supposedly didn’t need to worry much about Lyme disease.

Being routinely told there’s “no Lyme in the South” was cold comfort to patients in southern states struggling to get diagnosed and treated for debilitating symptoms–many of whom actually DID have Lyme disease.

Now, a recent CDC report tells a very different story: Lyme‑carrying ticks are definitely in the South too — and they’re carrying the same pathogens found in long‑established Lyme hotspots.

What the CDC found

Between November 2024 and August 2025, researchers partnered with residents in Western North Carolina to collect ticks from their own yards. The results were eye‑opening:

• Blacklegged ticks made up nearly 80% of all ticks collected
• About 40% of adult blacklegged ticks carried Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease
• Some also carried Borrelia miyamotoi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum, both capable of causing serious illness

Gee, this sounds pretty similar to infection rates in the Northeast and Upper Midwest —not the line we’ve traditionally been fed.

Why this matters for the whole country

This isn’t just a North Carolina story. It’s part of a nationwide shift.

Blacklegged ticks have been expanding their range for years. They’re showing up in more counties, more states, and more residential areas than ever before. Warmer winters, changing wildlife patterns, and shifting habitats are helping them thrive in places where they didn’t used to.

Public health messaging hasn’t always kept up. Many people in southern states still hear that Lyme disease “isn’t really here.” But the data says otherwise. And people need to learn how to protect themselves.

TOUCHED BY LYME is written by Dorothy Kupcha Leland, President of LymeDisease.org. She is co-author of Finding Resilience: A Teen’s Journey Through Lyme Disease and of When Your Child Has Lyme Disease: A Parent’s Survival Guide. Contact her at dleland@lymedisease.org.