Lorain County Public Health and Lorain County Metro Parks are teaming up to launch a new effort to raise awareness about ticks and Lyme disease.
"Ticks are on the rise across the entire state of Ohio," said Health Commissioner Justin Rechichar. "Certainly, in Lorain, the tick that everyone’s talking about is the blacklegged tick or the deer tick; those are the ticks that typically will carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease."
Here are the numbers of confirmed Lyme disease cases in Lorain County over the past five years:
- 2021: 1
- 2022: 0
- 2023: 6
- 2024: 19
- 2025: 18
According to the health department, interpreting the numbers is tricky. The increase could be due to one or a combination of factors: more ticks carrying the disease, healthcare providers being better informed, and people being more educated.
Tick stations are going up at metro parks across the county. Assistant Director Jennifer Bracken said the goal is to prevent the spread of disease. She believes people will use the stations.
"This is a gentle reminder as you’re coming off the trail with your family and friends that ticks are present in our parks and to look out for each other, look out for yourself," said Bracken. "Even if people are just in the habit of checking themselves for ticks prior to leaving the park, that’s a win."
The tick stations have a QR code that leads visitors to the county’s tick tracker. If park-goers find a tick, they’re encouraged to take a picture, upload it to the site and put the tick in the solution that’s in the jar. Staff at the health department will work to identify the tick species.
"Lyme disease, if you contract it, has long-term chronic illness effects," said Rechichar. "Certainly, we know it’s here; we know there’s a slight increase, but certainly it’s nothing to panic about.”
Tiffany Tarpley is a Lorain County and We Follow Through anchor at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @TiffanyTarpley, on Facebook TiffanyTarpleyTV or email her at Tiffany.Tarpley@wews.com.
