CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- Health experts say local children could be at greater risk for getting Lyme disease this year. 

Ticks are most common when it's warm out, and with the unseasonable warm weather, kids are playing outside earlier than usual.

Lyme disease is the most commonly seen illness among those that people get from insect bites. 

It's also most common in people ages five to 15, and when untreated, it can cause serious problems in the brain, joints and heart.

There is no vaccine to prevent it, but Pediatric Associates of Charlottesville is working with Pfizer on a study to make one.

"If we're able to get a vaccine available to the public, that would be sort of a game changer in being able to put a handle on that disease and the prevalence that it has in the country and especially in Virginia," said study coordinator Grace Royster.

It's a two-year study made up of four shots and six visits altogether. Pediatric Associates of Charlottesville is looking for at least 35 more children between the ages of five and 17 to participate.

Anyone interested in enrolling their child in the study should email [email protected].