Cases of Lyme’s desease In the United States they increased almost 70% in 2022, which health officials say is not due to a major increase in new infections but rather a change in reporting requirements.
Reported cases surpassed 62,000 in 2022, after an average of about 37,000 per year between 2017 and 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report. Figures for 2023 will be published later this year.
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The Lyme’s desease It is the most common tick-borne infection in the US and occurs primarily in the Northeast, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic states.
An estimated 476,000 Americans are diagnosed with this disease each year, but only a fraction is officially reported.
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Traditionally, health departments would receive positive lab tests and return to doctors’ offices to gather more information about patients. But reports decreased in 2020 and 2021 when health department staff were busy working on COVID-19.
Starting in 2022, all that is required to report cases (at least in high-incidence states) is a positive laboratory test. Better, more sensitive tests may be being used more and that may have contributed to the increase, but it’s too early to tell, CDC officials said.
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