MIT researcher launching at-home tick test for Lyme Disease

This time of year it's a good idea to regularly check for ticks after being outside. A new technology will allow you to test the tick for Lyme disease at your home. 

Margaret Georgacopoulos would do anything to protect her two young kids from the pain she has endured living with Lyme disease. "This time of year makes me particularly nervous," she said. "I have come to really be afraid of nature because I can see what one teeny tiny tick bite can do to your body if left untreated." 

According to the CDC, ER visits for tick bites this spring are the highest they've been since 2017.

"I started to think I was crazy," Georgacopoulos said. "You know pain, fatigue, nausea, insomnia. It was as if I had the flu every day." 

Erin Dawicki, a physician associate and mom to daughters and dogs, sees ticks almost daily living along southeastern Massachusetts. This summer, the MIT researcher is launching LymeAlert, an at-home test for anyone who finds a tick on themselves or a pet, that can detect Lyme within 15 minutes.

"Our goal is to get this into everybody's medical kits. Not everyone finds the tick, but when you do, if you can test it immediately at home and know you've been exposed. You can either contact your health care provider or connect through our app to telehealth and get antibiotics within that 72-hour treatment window," Dawicki explained.

Improving access to care and preventing antibiotic resistance, which costs our health care system billions of dollars every year.

"I'm always excited to hear about progress with ticks and testing and the likelihood of this happening to someone else again being lower," Georgacopoulos said. "It's really scary and you have no idea what it can do to your life." 

A limited batch of 5,000 LymeAlert test kits will be available this summer, shipping in August from LymeAlert.com. Tick exposure can occur year-round as long as temperatures are above freezing.