Infectious disease specialists at UHS say tick-borne illness has surged dramatically across Central New York and the Southern Tier, with patients showing up sicker and later than doctors would like. The warning centers on a mix of diseases spread by ticks that continue to thrive across the region, creating diagnostic puzzles that can delay treatment when speed matters most.
“All tick-borne illness has exploded in Central New York,” said Dr. Zachary Jones, an internal medicine and infectious disease physician at UHS, according to WBNG. Jones, who spent about 14 years away from the area before returning roughly eight years ago, said recognizing that these diseases are present and increasing is important for local healthcare providers trying to prevent severe outcomes. UHS Wilson Medical Center serves as a referral hub for surrounding counties stretching north toward Syracuse, and the station reports that tick-borne illnesses are increasing in both outpatient and inpatient settings there.
The regional caseload includes Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Bourbon virus, according to the same report. United Health Services infectious disease specialists reported that the regional tick-borne illness caseload has expanded dramatically over the past decade, and the station's account notes that providers are now encountering patients who present late with severe complications.
Why These Infections Are So Easy to Miss
Part of the problem, per the station's report, is that symptoms often mimic common viral ailments. Patients typically present with headaches, fevers, gastrointestinal distress and joint aches, and most do not remember ever finding a tick on their body. “The majority of patients do not remember being bitten,” said Staci DeLucia, an infectious disease nurse practitioner at UHS, per the same account.
That combination — vague symptoms and no memory of a bite — creates complex diagnostic hurdles for medical providers, the report states. UHS clinicians rely on a blend of laboratory work and symptom patterns to evaluate suspected infections, and when patients arrive with fevers and other classic signs, doctors sometimes begin treatment before lab confirmation comes back at all, using doxycycline preemptively for some suspected tick-borne cases.
How Testing and Treatment Actually Work
Lyme testing follows a two-tier protocol recommended by health authorities, the article notes. An in-house preliminary screening checks for Lyme antibodies and returns results within 24 to 48 hours, while a reflex confirmatory test analyzing specific antibody bands can take five to seven business days. That delay matters because acute, early Lyme infections may lack detectable antibodies for up to four weeks, meaning initial tests can produce false-negative results even in genuinely infected patients.
When patients show severe joint swelling, providers can test joint fluid directly with PCR, which detects bacterial DNA in the fluid, according to the same reporting. Anaplasmosis, one of the diseases circulating in the region, is caused by the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum and spreads through the bite of infected ticks, according to Cleveland Clinic. Its common symptoms include fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and stomach pain, and PCR testing can detect the bacteria's genetic material in a patient's blood as well.
The Stakes of Waiting Too Long
Standard oral antibiotics are typically effective for early-stage Lyme disease, but that treatment depends on catching the infection before it progresses to cardiac or joint involvement, per the station's reporting. Advanced Lyme disease can cause Lyme carditis and neurologic symptoms, and Lyme carditis specifically can trigger dangerous heart blockages or slow heart rates. Some tick-borne infections could prove fatal if not treated accurately and quickly, the report states, underscoring why prompt diagnosis is considered critical.
Healthcare providers treat anaplasmosis with the antibiotic doxycycline, typically for seven to 10 days, according to Cleveland Clinic. People treated with antibiotics soon after symptoms begin should start feeling better within 24 to 48 hours, and UHS clinicians report a similar pattern: patients with suspected tick-borne infections often improve within that same window after effective preemptive treatment begins. Left untreated or caught too late, severe anaplasmosis can also cause acute respiratory distress syndrome, per Cleveland Clinic.
UHS's infectious disease team also manages hospital-wide antibiotic stewardship, an effort the report says ensures treatments remain targeted and effective across departments — a balancing act as clinicians weigh preemptive dosing against the risk of overprescribing. Black-legged ticks, the type responsible for spreading several of these illnesses, can also carry the germs behind Lyme disease, babesiosis, Powassan virus disease and Borrelia miyamotoi infection, according to the Massachusetts government. With tick populations continuing to thrive across the region, UHS specialists are urging both patients and providers to stay alert to symptoms even when no bite was ever noticed.
