New York Times Magazine: Ticks Are More Dangerous Than Ever. Why Can’t We Do Anything About It?

In 2023 — three whole tick seasons ago — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that nearly half a million Americans already had alpha-gal syndrome. There’s reason to suspect that this number is wildly low. In states where the lone star is endemic, 24 percent of blood-donor samples have tested positive for alpha-gal antibodies. The tick itself, historically partial to the American South, is now well established in the Northeast and the Upper Midwest. In places where the two top ticks overlap, it’s starting to look as if the lone star could supplant the deer tick as the dominant species.