Lyme & Tick-Borne Disease Awareness Month!
This national proclamation in the month of May is an opportunity to elevate awareness of Lyme and the growing number of other tick-borne diseases and conditions that affect increasing numbers of people in the US each year. Recent data from the centers for Disease control and prevention show tick-borne diseases are on the rise. In 2017, state and local health departments reported a record number of cases of tick-borne disease to CDC. Cases of Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, spotted fever rickettsiosis (including Rocky Mountain spotted fever), babesiosis, tularemia, and Powassan virus disease all increased—from 48,610 cases in 2016 to 59,349 cases in 2017. These 2017 data capture only a fraction of the number of people with tick-borne illnesses. Under-reporting of all tick-borne diseases is common, so the number of people actually infected is much higher. According to the CDC, Lyme disease case estimates alone have now reached 476,000 annually. Prevention is key to staying healthy!
Awareness and education is critical in preventing these diseases all year long!