What is so special about Lynchburg, Virginia?

We all know how why Lynchburg is so special. Running, biking, hiking - it is all here! But did you know endurance athletes who train in the Central Virginia mountains and Greater Lynchburg Area (Bedford, Amherst, Campbell, Appomattox, Lynchburg City) share the same habitat as ticks which may carry a tick-borne disease?

Tick Habitats are Changing

Due to climate change, ticks are moving in a southwestern trajectory. Data from a 2016 record of Lyme Disease from the Virginia Department of Health shows Lyme Disease is expanding in the southwestern part of the state. The counties highlighted in red, yellow, and orange fall in the mountainous western part of the state, home to the Blue Ridge Mountains, Grayson Highlands, Shenandoah Mountains, and the New River Valley.

A study conducted in Virginia between 2000 and 2011 (Brinkerhoff et al., 2014) found a high density of infected ticks at higher elevations and determined “that the most notable increases in ticks and disease risk are at higher elevations in the western part of Virginia” (p. 1665).

Brinkerhoff, Gilliam, W. F., & Gaines, D. (2014). Lyme disease, Virginia, USA, 2000-2011. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 20(10), 1661–1668. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2010.130782