Quick Facts
Fastest Growing
ACCORDING TO THE CDC, LYME DISEASE IS THE FASTEST GROWING VECTOR-BORNE, INFECTIOUS DISEASE IN THE UNITED STATES.
25x
The number of cases reported annually has increased nearly 25-fold since national surveillance began in 1982
300
There are 5 subspcies of borrelia burgdorferi, over 100 strains in the US, and 300 strains worldwide.
This diversity is thought to contribute to its ability to evade the immune system and antibiotic therapy, leading to chronic infection
300,000
CDC reports: Lyme disease infects 300,000 people a year. 10 times more Americans than previously reported.
This new preliminary estimate confirms that Lyme disease is a tremendous public health problem in the United States,” says Dr. Paul Mead, chief of epidemiology and surveillance for CDC’s Lyme disease program.
New Lyme Disease Cases in US
25,000 | CDC ESTIMATE |
5,770 | CDC ESTIMATE |
822 | CDC ESTIMATE |
34 | CDC ESTIMATE |
NO ACCURATE TESTS
THERE ARE NO TESTS AVAILABLE TO PROVE THAT THE ORGANISM IS ERADICATED OR THAT THE PATIENT IS CURED.
50%
FEWER THAN 50% OF PATIENTS WITH LYME DISEASE RECALL A TICK BITE.
50%
FEWER THAN 50% OF PATIENTS WITH LYME DISEASE RECALL ANY RASH.
35%
THE ELISA SCREENING TEST IS UNRELIABLE.
The common Elisa test you receive at your doctor’s office misses 35% of culture proven Lyme disease. Some studies indicate up to 50% of the patients tested for Lyme disease receive false negative results.
50%
UP TO FIFTY PERCENT OF TICKS IN LYME-ENDEMIC AREAS ARE INFECTED.
The onset of Lyme disease symptoms can be easily mistaken for other illnesses. Once symptoms are more evident the disease may have already entered the central nervous system, and could be hard to cure.
40%
40% OF LYME PATIENTS END UP WITH LONG TERM HEALTH PROBLEMS.
The average patient sees 5 doctors over nearly 2 years before being diagnosed.
40%
SHORT TREATMENT COURSES HAVE RESULTED IN UPWARDS OF A 40% RELAPSE RATE, ESPECIALLY IF TREATMENT IS DELAYED.
There has never been a study demonstrating that 30 days of antibiotic treatment cures chronic Lyme disease. However there is much documentation demonstrating that short courses of antibiotic treatment fail to eradicate the Lyme spirochete.