The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention receives reports of about 30,000 cases of Lyme disease each year. The real number, according to the agency, is closer to 300,000.
Underreporting affects the ability of public health authorities to assess risk, allocate resources and devise prevention strategies. It also makes early detection very difficult, hampering efforts to treat the condition quickly and effectively.
A new report, published on March 3, 2020, in Journal of the American Medical Association, describes a data model developed by researchers from Columbia University and RTI International, a nonprofit research institute, that helps identify areas of the United States where Lyme disease cases may go unreported.
“We believe our analysis can help predict the trajectory of where Lyme disease will spread,” said Maria Pilar Fernandez, a post-doctoral researcher at Columbia and lead author of the study. “Identifying high-risk areas can lead to surveillance in counties and areas where infections are likely to emerge. It also allows authorities to alert physicians and the public, which can lead to early treatment, when it is most effective.”
Read more at Columbia University
Image: A data model developed by Columbia researchers showed about 162 U.S. counties may have Lyme disease cases not yet been reported to the CDC. (Credit: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)