Ticks are a public health crisis. In the United States alone, there are 20 known tick-borne diseases, and there may be some that have yet to be discovered but could be making people sick. The most common tick-borne disease in the United States is Lyme disease; the deadliest two are Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Powassan virus.

Each year there are close to 500,000 newly diagnosed cases of Lyme disease, of which up to 20% of early-treated cases remain sick with persistent symptoms.  Additionally, there are approximately 250,000 newly diagnosed cases of other tick-borne diseases every year–many of which are extremely dangerous in the acute phase. 

Climate change, ecological disruptions, and shifts in human settlement patterns are increasing tick populations and tick encounters.  Ticks do not discriminate; everyone is at risk for a tick bite.  We need to take action now to ensure that everyone knows how dangerous ticks are.