Increasing
Incidence of Lyme Disease in Children and Young
Males
[Posted 10/21/2008]
Of all
the vector-borne illnesses in the US, Lyme disease
is the most commonly reported. Lyme disease occurs
most frequently in the Northeast and North-central
states. Incidence is highest in the age range of 5
to 14 years. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
published a study in the October 3 MMWR that
examined the reported cases of Lyme disease from 1992
to 2006. In this 15-year period, the number of cases
doubled, from 9,908 to 19,931 cases.
Lyme disease first manifested in Lyme, Connecticut
in the late 1970s. The etiologic agent is a
bacterial spirochete called Borrelia burgdorferi.
Blacklegged or deer ticks transmit the spirochete
from small vertebrates such as mice, squirrels,
shrews, etc. Though deer are not infected with this
bacterial spirochete, they do transport ticks that
may have the spirochete.
Lyme disease often starts as an erythema migrans
rash with symptoms of fatigue, fever, headache,
stiff neck, arthralgia, or myalgia. If untreated,
Lyme disease increasingly causes more serious bodily
damage (e.g., meningitis, cardiac abnormalities,
peripheral neuropathy). Consequently, early
detection and treatment (with antimicrobials) are
imperative.
Related Links:
MMWR October 3, 2008 Issue (PDF)
MMWR October 3, 2008 Issue (HTML)
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