New Study Predicts One-Third Increase
in Number of Lyme Disease Cases per Year in the United States
over a Ten-Year Period.
Published
by the World International Lyme Disease Emergency Rescue Network
() a new study predicts the number
of
Lyme disease cases per year in the United States to grow a whole
third from 2002 to 2012. The maximum possible predicted increase
is
two-thirds more. This means for every three people who have Lyme
disease, there is an expected one more with a maximum possibility
of
two more. It is important to note that data for this study was
collected from the Federal Centers for Disease Control, who says
that their published surveillance data may under-represent the
actual number of cases in the US by as much as ten fold. This
translates to an expected increase of at least 80,000 Lyme disease
cases per year and up to a maximum of 160,000 cases per year
by the
year 2012.
Being
the fastest growing vector-borne disease, an accurate
estimation of individuals infected with Lyme disease is of major
importance. However, there are larger questions regarding the
actual number of Lyme disease cases including; how much is Lyme
disease going to cost society in medical expenses and lost wages,
and how much will it add to the disability benefits burden for
taxpayers? As children are much more likely to be infected than
adults, the escalated incidence of pain and suffering of children
and families may have a potentially disabling impact on America's
present and future workforce. Certainly, knowledge of the future
magnitude of this disease will assist in better planning and
implementation of infrastructure of our medical system for more
efficient management of this disease.
Lyme
disease is a bacterial infection transmitted by a tick bite;
it
is the most common tick-borne disease and the most rapidly emerging
of all vector-borne diseases. Lyme disease can invade multiple
systems in the human body, giving rise to a wide variation of
symptoms and disabilities.
