A spike in the tick population in the D.C. region may mean an increase in Lyme disease, reports WAMU.

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Over the past few years, the deer tick population, the culprit of Lyme disease, has doubled in some areas in the region. The ticks, no larger than the tip of a pencil, are not just found on deer, but in some cases may be carried by rodents.

Lyme disease often feels like the flu, says Greg Skall of the National Capital Lyme Disease Association. “They’ll get achy joints and that sort of thing, but then the symptoms go away, but the disease doesn’t go away.”

The rising risk though, shouldn’t lead anyone to hide indoors, says Monte Skall, also of the region’s Lyme Disease Association. “Don’t be afraid to go out into the forest and to the meadows and into your yard as long as when you come in you check yourself.”

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Watch the Under Our Skin trailer, a film focusing on the Lyme disease epidemic, revealing how the health care system has failed at addressing the illness.