Record number of tickborne diseases reported in U.S. in 2017
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show tickborne diseases are again on the rise. In 2017, state and local health departments reported a record number of cases of tickborne 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 tickborne illnesses. Under-reporting of all tickborne diseases is common, so the number of people actually infected is much higher.
This increase follows an accelerating trend of tickborne diseases reported in the United States. Between 2004 and 2016, the number of reported cases of tickborne disease doubled, and researchers discovered seven new tickborne pathogens that infect people. The new data are from the Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (NNDSS). NNDSS tracks and monitors diseases of public health importance in the United States, including six reportable tickborne disease groups.