CDC-Lyme disease at all-time high

      The Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced it recorded 17,730 cases of Lyme disease in 2000.  This number of cases represents an eight percent increase from1999 and is well above the average number of cases reported annually since 1991.  Lyme disease cases have nearly doubled in the 1990's. Most of the cases reported in 2000 came from the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic and North-Central states.  New York, Connecticut and New Jersey had the highest number of cases. According to the CDC, more people are being exposed more often to ticks and tick populations.

     The CDC is currently working with state and local officials on prevention projects and strategies to help reduce tick populations and the spread of the disease.  Most cases of Lyme disease arise from tick exposures in late spring and early summer.  Children between the ages of 5 and 9 and adults between the ages of 50 and 59 are at highest risk for contracting the disease.  The CDC also noted that avoidance of tick infested areas and appropriate vaccination had been shown to help prevent infection.  A vaccine licensed in 1998 is believed to be 76% effective in preventing the disease in people who received three doses, but some people complain of arthritis-like symptoms after being vaccinated.

     For more complete information on this topic visit:  www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/transcripts/t020117.htm