Lyme disease Total 34,945 rate per 100,00 [people] 10.69
Here is the Lyme disease Association article And a ranking of CDC reported cases in 2019 plus the probable actual number based on the CDC estimate that there are probably ten times the reported numbers.
Final Lyme disease case numbers are usually reported in the fall of the next year (for 2019, should have been reported in 2020).
The CDC has responded to LDA inquiries over time that reporting was delayed due to the pandemic and thus to shortages of resources/personnel at many government levels, which was no surprise to anyone following the numbers’ delay.
CDC also had a note on the reporting page that “Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, data from some jurisdictions may be incomplete.”
Past Estimates of Underreporting In the past, CDC has reported that only 10% of cases are actually reported─ that translates into 349,450 actual new Lyme cases in the US in 2019.
However, in 2021, the CDC announced that “A recently released estimate based on insurance records suggests that each year ~ 476,000 Americans are diagnosed & treated for Lyme disease(1,2). ”
Prior Lyme estimates based on claims data had indicated “~300,000 people get Lyme disease each year.”
It appears clear from the number of patients culled from insurance data as being diagnosed and treated annually for Lyme disease in the U.S. that cases are vastly under-reported.
(1)• Schwartz AM, Kugeler KJ, Nelson CA, et al. Use of Commercial Claims Data for Evaluating Trends in Lyme Disease Diagnoses, United States, 2010-2018. Emerg Infect Dis. 2021;27(2). (2)• Kugeler KJ, Schwartz AM, Delorey M, et al. Estimating the frequency of Lyme disease diagnoses —United States, 2010-2018. Emerg Infect Dis. 2021;27(2).