2017 Tick-Borne Disease Numbers are Out: The News is Not Good

Although the numbers of tick-borne diseases have been out several days on CDC’s Wonder platform, a new data set format for tick-borne diseases has just been introduced today by CDC for 2017. It includes much pertinent information including the state numbers, state incidence map and rate, rate per 100,000 by age group, by race, by ethnicity, by sex, for Lyme disease–all which will be in an easy layout to follow. Other TBDs totals are also there. Something the LDA has requested since last year, a disclaimer, has been made on the map concerning MA. MA has changed its reporting so that it relies primarily on lab reports, so it has not been able to have most of its numbers reported out by CDC as it does not meet the case definition set by the Council of State & Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE). A similar disclaimer should be made for NY. CDC will be releasing more information early next week.

2017 reported case numbers for Lyme, 42,743, is appears to be the largest total reported by CDC. Considering the disease is underreported by a factor of 10,that means 427,430 cases occurred in the US in 2017.

CDC Results show a record number of tick-borne diseases.

The LDA has listed the states in rank order for Lyme disease reported case numbers by state for 2017:

1. PA (11,900); 2. NY (5,155); 3. NJ (5,092); 4. WI (3,000); 5. MN (2,318); 6. CT (2,051);  7. MD (1,891);   8. ME (1,850); 9. VA (1,657); 10. NH (1381); 11. VT (1,092); 12. RI (1,132);    13. WV (648); 14. DE (608); 15. NC (295)

The LDA has listed the states in rank order for Lyme disease incidence by state for 2017 for states CDC classifies as high incidence states:

1. ME (106.6), 2. VT (103.6), 3. PA (72.2), 4. NH (71.2), 5. RI (56.2), 6. DE (43.8), 7. NJ (40.3), 8. CT (38.5), 9. WI (31.0), 10. WV (27.7), 11. MD (19.7), 12. NY (17.6), 13. VA (12.3), 14. DC (8.9), 15. MA (4.7)

The LDA has listed the top 10 age groups in rank order for Lyme diseases reported cases for 2017:

1. 60-64 (3,836); 2. 55-59 (3,717); 3. 5-9 (3,536); 4. 65-69 (3,479); 5. 50-54 (3119); 6. 10-14 (2,953); 7. 40-44 (2,886); 8. 70-74 (2,594); 9. 45-49 (2,447); 10. 15-19 (2098)

CDC Links to data:

(case count summary) https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/data-summary/index.html

(state data) https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/datasurveillance/maps-recent.html

(charts and figures) https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/datasurveillance/charts-figures-recent.html

(data tables) https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/datasurveillance/tables-recent.html

increasing trend of reported tickborne diseases.