WIFR-TV (Rockford, Ill., June 18) — As tick populations expand across the Midwest, a phenomenon scientists attribute to climate change, concerns about tick-borne illnesses are growing. Illinois is among the top 13 states seeing a rise in alpha-gal syndrome cases caused by a bite from the lone star tick, with residents living in southern Illinois at the highest risk, according to a 2025 study by the U. of I.. “We don’t have enough long-term data about the population of ticks, but we do know that the number of tick-borne diseases is increasing,” says Rebecca Smith, a pathobiology professor at Illinois who led the Centers for Disease Control-funded study published in the September edition of the scientific journal, Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases.
Tick-borne Diseases Plague Southern Illinois
