Tiny ticks pose growing health threat in Pennsylvania

Tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease can cause long-term health complications if untreated, affecting quality of life and requiring extended medical care.

Each summer, the forests, parks, and backyards of Pennsylvania become contested ground between human recreation and a nearly invisible threat. Tick nymphs — so small they often escape notice entirely — are at peak activity in early summer, carrying pathogens capable of reshaping a person's health for years. The story of one hiker's close encounter is really the story of an entire region learning, sometimes painfully, that the wilderness has moved into the neighborhood. Awareness, in this season, is not a luxury but a form of self-preservation.

Tiny ticks pose growing health threat in Pennsylvania

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