It has been revealed in a study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that Lyme disease is spreading significantly to new geographic areas after growing to a large extent in its normal hotspots in the US. The disease was not even known by most of the people in the new areas.

According to researchers, "Over time, the number of counties identified as having high incidence of Lyme disease in the northeastern states increased more than 320 percent". According to them, the disease has attacked some states for the first time.

The largest number of cases has so far been seen in the Upper Midwest and the Northeast, however many other parts of those regions are now at high risk for the condition. According to Kiersten Kugeler, the lead author of the CDC study, the risk of the disease is increasing.

Reports say that the high-risk counties are located in 17 states. In 1975, the disease was reported in the state of Connecticut for the first time. And it has been a high-risk area for decades. Now almost all of New England comes under high-risk zones.

As per reports, wooded suburban areas are most adversely affected by the disease. It is thought that the ticks that carry the disease reside here. It is still unclear that why the disease is spreading to the new areas. However, scientists think that it is probably related to development that removes natural predators of the disease-carrying ticks.

Symptoms of the disease include headache, fever, fatigue and a skin rash. The disease can spread to the heart, joints and the nervous system, if not diagnosed at the right time.