Experts warn of rising tick-borne illness that is more of a threat than Lyme disease | 13 March 2026 | An expansive study of ticks in New York and the diseases they carry determined that the prevalence of a lesser-known blood parasite is rising. Scientists were expecting to find plenty of [Pentagon-created] Lyme disease during their nine-year study trawling Dutchess County, New York forest floors for black-legged ticks. What they did not expect was that another pathogen that often flies under the radar may pose an even greater threat. Babesia microti is a parasite that infects red blood cells, causing babesiosis — a malaria-like illness that can be severe or fatal, especially in older adults and the immunocompromised. According to the new study, it is far more common than previously thought.