The number of patients diagnosed with Lyme disease in the first five months of 2017 is 21 percent higher than the same time period a year prior, according to new data from the athenahealth network.
To determine the national rate of diagnoses with the tick-borne illness, researchers tallied patient visits that included a diagnosis of Lyme disease from January through May of this year among athenahealth network clinicians at more than 1,600 practices.
While the nationwide rate of patients diagnosed with Lyme disease was 21 percent higher than last year, the rate of Lyme diagnosis among states in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic U.S. was even higher. In Massachusetts and Connecticut, the number of patients diagnosed with Lyme disease was 25 percent higher this year than in 2016. For New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, it was 50 percent higher.
Researchers said it was unclear whether the uptick in Lyme cases was attributable to greater awareness and improved tick testing resources, or environmental changes such as increased acorn crops. Experts expressed concern regarding the potential over diagnosis of Lyme disease, which could put patients at risk for harm.
"Unfortunately, when people are left to self-identify, they are quick to associate ticks in general with Lyme disease, which isn't necessarily the truth. This usually means they come to the doctor worried about Lyme when it's not certain that the tick that bit them is even a carrier," said Thomas Mather, PhD, director of the University of Rhode Island's Center for Vector-Borne Disease in Kingston.
Dr. Mather encourages healthcare organizations to take advantage of tick testing programs to ensure the accuracy of Lyme diagnoses.
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