ER Visits for Tick Bites Hit Highest Level in Nearly a Decade

The start of summer is supposed to bring hiking trails, backyard cookouts, and long days outside, but federal health officials are urging Americans to take one extra precaution before heading out the door. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that emergency room visits for tick bites are running at their highest weekly rates since 2017 across most of the country, and the traditional peak of tick season has not even arrived yet.

An Early and Aggressive Season

The CDC released the data on April 23, flagging an unusual spike in tick bite-related ER visits that began earlier than health officials typically see. In all regions of the United States except the South Central states, weekly ER visit rates for tick bites are the highest for this time of year in nearly a decade.

The numbers tell a clear story. Emergency department visits for tick bites reached 105 in April 2026, up from 68 in April 2025, a roughly 54 percent year-over-year increase. That surge, arriving before tick season traditionally peaks in June, has public health officials closely watching the data through the CDC's Tick Bite Tracker, which monitors ER visit rates in real time by region.