MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Donal Bisanzio PhD DVM Senior Epidemiologist RTI International MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The number of reported cases of Lyme disease has steadily increased since the year 2000. The Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) estimates that nearly 30,000 cases are reported each year with close to 270,000 unreported cases. The high fraction of unreported cases is linked with the absence of specific disease symptoms, which can deter physicians from an initial diagnosis. Another critical factor causing underreporting is the low accuracy of methods used to test Lyme disease. These factors show us that some counties that are currently considered Lyme disease-free may only have this status due to underreporting. RTI International, in collaboration with Columbia University, built a model to show factors affecting the diffusion of case reporting in the north-eastern U.S. from 2000 to 2017 and identify which counties may be experiencing underreporting. The model used publicly available data published each year by the CDC on cases reported at the county-level merged with information on vector distribution and data obtained by satellite surveys. The model included 855 counties located in 31 states in the West North Central, East North Central, New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern regions of the U.S. The final product was a map showing the probability of counties of the north-eastern U.S. to report Lyme disease cases.  (more…)