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Geographic Analysis and Monitoring Program

Lyme Disease,
Lee De Cola, Eastern Region Geography (US)

The most commonly reported vector-borne illness in the U.S. is Lyme disease. The disease is endemic to the Northeast U.S. and induces human symptoms caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted by infected Ixodes scapularis and I. pacificus ticks who have fed off various infected mammal hosts, including deer and mice. There are antibiotic regimens as well as a preventive vaccine. The disease is increasing in incidence, although in one form or another the illness has probably been around for over a century. Lyme disease symptoms are also often subtle, leading to difficult diagnoses, and the illness sometimes appears to cause widespread and systemic problems. Finally, the diagnosis of the disease is often difficult, leading to false positives and negatives. It is therefore useful to see what spatial and temporal patterns describe this epidemic and develop a spatial forecasting system using integrated data management, statistics, and GIS tools.




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U.S. Department of the Interior || U.S. Geological Survey
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Last modified: 15:32:51 Mon 21 Oct 2002
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