The Lake County Health Department/Community Health Center is encouraging county residents to take precautions against ticks, which can carry diseases such as Lyme disease. Once considered a rare illness in Lake County, Lyme disease is becoming more common in the area. The average annual number of reported probable and confirmed cases of this disease increased steadily from 6.7 cases between 2003-2005 to 30.3 cases between 2012-2015.