CDC Publishes New Data Showing an Estimated 476,000 Americans are Diagnosed with Lyme Disease Each Year
Washington, D.C. — In response to a push by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tina Smith (D-MN), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published new data on Lyme disease, which reveals that an estimated 476,000 people are diagnosed with and treated for Lyme disease each year in the United States. The new calculation is roughly 10 times higher than the number of reported Lyme disease cases, which was nearly 48,000 in 2018.
Additionally, as requested by the Senators, the CDC has published a new dashboard to help researchers collect real-time data. This information on emergency department visits for tick bites by time, region, age, and sex will be updated weekly instead of annually and can better indicate when people in different parts of the country may be at the highest risk for tick bites.
Senators Collins and Smith, the authors of the bipartisan Kay Hagan Tick Act that was enacted in December 2019—sent a letter to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last January calling for the release of this data as part of the implementation of their law. The Kay Hagan Tick Act will help to improve research, prevention, diagnostics, and treatment for tick-borne diseases.
“This new data showing that Lyme disease remains vastly under-reported by a factor of 10 underscores the fact that tick-borne illnesses are a serious and growing public health threat,” said Senator Collins. “As the authors of the Kay Hagan Tick Act that created a national strategy to fight tick-borne diseases, Senator Smith and I pushed for the release of this powerful tool to assist researchers working to track and eradicate Lyme disease. Now that we have a clearer picture of the challenge that we are up against, we are better positioned to protect Americans’ health.”
"This report confirms that Lyme disease is a serious and growing public health problem in the United States," said Senator Smith. "Now that we have this data, it's incumbent on us to advance the national strategy outlined in the Kay Hagan Tick Act. Such prevention and treatment efforts will help curb the spread of tick-borne diseases so that Americans can enjoy spending time outside safely."
The incidence of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases has increased significantly since the CDC reporting began in 1991. According to the CDC, Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease and the most common vector-borne disease.
Maine alone reported more than 1,400 confirmed cases in 2018, the highest incidence of Lyme disease in the nation. Minnesota is also vulnerable with 950 confirmed cases of Lyme diseases in 2018. These data, however, capture only about one-tenth of the estimated number of disease cases, and a full understanding of the economic and societal costs remains unknown. Studies so far indicate that Lyme disease alone costs approximately $1.3 billion each year in direct medical costs, and overall costs, including indirect costs, average $75 billion.
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