Monroe Health Officials Seeing Early Lyme Disease Cases This Spring

MONROE, CT — Monroe health officials said the town is already seeing Lyme disease cases as tick season ramps up across Connecticut.

During a recent Board of Health meeting, Health Director Laurel Shaw said the Health Department has seen a “steady flow” of ticks being submitted this spring and confirmed Monroe had already recorded four Lyme disease cases.

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Connecticut is considered one of the country’s hotspots for tick-borne illnesses, and researchers say this year’s season may be especially active. State scientists recently reported that more than 40 percent of deer ticks submitted for testing in Connecticut carried the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

The CDC also said emergency room visits for tick bites are running higher than normal nationwide and are at their highest levels for this time of year since 2017 in much of the country.

Lyme disease is spread through the bite of infected black-legged ticks, also known as deer ticks, according to the Connecticut Department of Public Health.