New Yorkers have reason to be ticked off.
Cases of Lyme disease have jumped nearly 12 percent in 2014 compared with the year before — up a staggering 138 percent from a decade earlier, according to an advisory released Wednesday by the city’s Department of Health.
Also on the rise is anaplasmosis, another tick-borne disease that can cause fever, chills and a change in mental state. It was up about 39 percent last year compared with 2013.
Other tick-borne illnesses declined. Cases were highest in Manhattan, even if there’s little exposure to ticks there.
“Most cases reported a history of travel outside the city,” the agency noted in the advisory, which urges doctors to keep their eyes peeled and report all cases of tick-borne illnesses.
At least some New Yorkers weren’t bugging out.
“It won’t stop me from coming to parks,” said one 72-year-old man in Central Park. “I’ll just remember to check for ticks when I get home now.”