MARYLAND (WJZ) — Maryland has some of the highest cases of Lyme disease in the nation, yet funding for research is in jeopardy.

Lyme disease is the most common and fastest-growing vector-borne disease in the United States. Approximately 476,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for it each year, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In Maryland, Lyme disease cases have nearly doubled since 2020, according to the latest data from the Maryland Department of Health.

The infection is spread by black-legged tick bites, or deer ticks, which are most common across the eastern U.S. In early stages of the disease symptoms appear as flu-like, but if left untreated, it can affect the joints, heart, and nervous system.

“It’s not an illness that can be taken lightly,” said Nicole Baumgarth, director of the Lyme and Tickborne Diseases Research and Education Institute at Johns Hopkins University. “These long ongoing symptoms can really change some person’s life.”