India, Aug. 18 -- New research from the University of North Carolina found that blacklegged ticks, which are the main carriers of Lyme disease, are becoming more common in North Carolina.
The study looked at Biltmore Forest, a community in Buncombe County near Asheville, and found 19 adults who said they had developed a tickborne illness while living in the area. Seventeen of them reported having Lyme disease.
"If you were to do a similar study like this in New York or Pennsylvania, you might find 30% or 40% of the ticks are infected, but to see that here in western North Carolina is really striking," said Dr. Ross Boyce, a UNC Health infectious diseases specialist.
Between November 2024 and August 2025, researchers collected ticks from ...