Lyme cases in Maine spiked again in 2017 to another record
Portland Press Herald, Jan.19, 2018:
by Joe Lawlor
Lyme disease and anaplasmosis soared to record highs in Maine last year, with experts saying the relatively warm fall probably contributed to the increase in tick-borne illnesses.
Except for a slight downturn in 2015, reported cases of Lyme disease have now broken records in Maine every year since 2011.
There were 1,787 positive tests for Lyme in 2017, a 22 percent increase over the 1,464 Lyme cases in 2016, according to statistics compiled by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. READ MORE.
What is the CDC waiting for? Oh yes I forgot, preventing Zika virus is more Important in preventing an epidemic than Lyme Disease.
But how much of this is due to a slight increase in proper reporting? The rate of underreporting and misdiagnosis is so high in most places. I mentally multiply by 10 to 100 when I see statistics about reported Lyme cases.