A blacklegged tick, or deer tick. Photo credit: Scott Bauer, USDA Agricultural Research Service.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Blacklegged ticks, known to carry Lyme disease, have been found at an increasing rate in Ohio since 2010, the Columbus Dispatch reports.

Migrating from the east, populations of the blacklegged tick are thought to be established in 26 Ohio counties, the newspaper said. Ohio has recorded 36 cases of Lyme disease this year -- tick experts say that number may not exceed the 53 total cases in the state last year, though the ticks' Ohio invasion could produce higher numbers in the coming years.

"They show no signs of slowing down. We feel pretty confident the increase in their numbers and spread is real," Richard Gary, state entomologist with the Ohio Department of Health, told the Dispatch. "Our concern is that this ultimately may lead to an increase in Lyme disease cases."

Read the full story at Dispatch.com.

(Source: The Columbus Dispatch)