Lyme disease is now in all 50 states: 'Low risk' Florida and California have become new hot spots for the tick-borne illness as rates soar nationwide

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Lyme disease is now in all 50 states of America and the District of Columbia, a new study reveals.

The chronic tick-borne illness has long been rampant across the North East, which has historically accounted for 95 percent of cases.

But a new report by Quest Diagnostics, a New York-based database of clinical lab results, reveals Lyme is now prevalent across the United States.

In particular, new inroads are being made in California and Florida, where the risk was previously thought to be negligible. 

Meanwhile, the typical Lyme disease hot spots are only getting riskier: New England and Pennsylvania have respectively seen increases of 50 percent and 78 percent in the last two years.

Since 2010, the rate of positive tests for Lyme are up 11.2 percent nationwide, the report shows

Lyme disease has become more prevalent in the US in recent years, according to the report. Since 2010, the rate of positive tests for Lyme are up 11.2 percent. Numbers remained steady between 2010 and 2014, before shooting up dramatically in just three years. 

Florida and California, which are not historically associated with Lyme disease, drove that spike. 

The Sunshine State reported 483 positive test results in 2017 - a 77 percent increase from 2015.

Meanwhile, the Golden State on the other side of the country reported 501 - an increase of 194.5 percent.

New highs were also seen in Georgia, Arizona, Ohio, Texas, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Among those infected are Bella Hadid and her mother Yolanda, who often speak out about the debilitating condition. 

During an eight-year surveillance period from 2010-2017, positive test results identifying infection with B. burgdorferi that causes Lyme disease were found in each of the 50 states and in Washington, District of Columbia

The Sunshine State reported 483 positive test results in 2017 - a 77 percent increase from 2015. Meanwhile, the Golden State on the other side of the country reported 501 - an increase of 194.5 percent

The typical Lyme disease hot spots are only getting riskier: New England and Pennsylvania have respectively seen increases of 50 percent and 78 percent in the last two years

It is an infection transmitted from ticks to humans and animals through bites. Ticks carrying the disease spread a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi to their victims. They typically pick up the bacterium from infected animals, like deer or mice.

Many people who are bitten by ticks don’t contract Lyme disease. The infection is carried by deer ticks, also known as black legged ticks.

This particular type of tick is prevalent in the north eastern and mid-Atlantic United States, according to the CDC. Per the NHS, deer ticks can be found all across the United Kingdom, but are especially common in grassy and wooded areas in southern England and the Scottish Highlands.

The CDC recommends checking for ticks after coming inside from areas you may come in contact with them. Ticks should be removed within 48 hours to lessen your chances of contracting Lyme disease, Cleveland Clinic infectious disease specialist Alan Taege, MD told WebMD.

To safely remove a tick, the NHS recommends using fine-tipped tweezers or a tick removal tool. Grab the tick as close to the skin as you possibly can and slowly pull upward.

Hadids fighting Lyme: Bella (right) pictured at an event for the Global Lyme Alliance with her fellow supermodel siblings Gigi and Anwar

Do no squeeze or crush the tick and be sure to dispose of it once it’s been removed.

Clean your tick bite with antiseptic or soap and water.

Unless you begin to feel unwell after removing a tick, there is no need to seek further medical treatment.

Perhaps the most well-known and obvious sign of Lyme disease is a red bull’s-eye rash that will appear around the tick bite site. Other early signs include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and aches in both muscles and joints.

If Lyme disease is left untreated, sufferers may begin to experience severe headaches and/or neck stiffness, body rashes, arthritis, loss of muscle tone on one or both sides of the face, heart palpitations, inflammation of the brain and spinal cord and shooting pains, numbness or tingling in the hands or feet.

There are blood tests for Lyme disease, however they’re not immediately effective. According to Mayo Clinic, blood tests aren’t considered reliable ways of diagnosing Lyme disease until a few weeks after the infection’s been contracted.

Early stage Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics. Patients are generally prescribed doxycycline for between 10 days and three weeks. A doctor may instead prescribe amoxicillin or cefuroxime for two to three weeks.

In many cases, antibiotics can help people with Lyme disease feel better. Those for whom prescriptions don’t work are referred to a hospital or clinic where they can receive stronger antibiotics intravenously.

Chronic Lyme disease, however, is a term used to describe 'the attribution of various atypical syndromes to protracted Borrelia burgdorferi infection,' according to NCBI.  

The only way to prevent Lyme disease to is prevent tick bites. There are several ways to do that.

You can prevent tick bites by covering up appropriately with pants and tall socks when entering wooded areas and spraying your body or clothes with a tick repellent that contains DEET.

Lemon oil and eucalyptus are also thought to prevent tick bites.