Lyme disease cases in Michigan continue to rise, increasing from 553 in 2022 to 2,167 in 2025.
For the first time, the state is considered a “high-incidence jurisdiction” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an area that has had more than 10 cases of Lyme disease per 100,000 people for at least three consecutive years.
Rachel Burkholder, a vector-borne disease epidemiologist with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said this increase in cases is tied to an increase in Michigan’s tick population.
“They have been increasing in population across the Midwest for a few reasons. Ticks are very acclimated to Midwest climate. They reproduce in large numbers, and they survive our winters very well, and they like our hot, humid summers,” she said.
She also said people are more aware of Lyme disease symptoms and more likely to see a doctor, and doctors are more aware of local disease risk, so they do more testing.
As the weather gets warmer, Burkholder said the best way to protect against Lyme disease is to avoid tick bites.
“Our tick populations will continue to spread, and the best thing to try to prevent this increase in cases is preventing tick bites, and that comes down to the behavior and the prevention methods that our citizens here in Michigan are utilizing,” she said.
She encouraged people to use an EPA-approved bug repellent, do tick checks on themselves and their pets after being outside, and stay on well-groomed trails when hiking.
