Epidemiology of Lyme Disease
Running Head: LYME DISEASE
The Epidemiology of Lyme Disease
Justin Brewer
Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR 442: Community Health Nursing
Spring, 2009
The Epidemiology of Lyme Disease Lyme disease is a significant public health concern in the United States. Despite a growing knowledge of the disease, the incidence of Lyme disease continues to increase (Corapi, White, Phillips, Daltroy, Shadick, & Liang, 2007). Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, is found naturally in the environment. However, the transfer of the bacteria to humans is preventable. Although not considered life threatening, Lyme disease can have significant neurovascular and musculoskeletal side effects which can last a lifetime (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007). The increased rate of infection and the potential for severe illness or impairment warrants intervention by health care officials and government agencies.
Historical Significance The signs and symptoms of Lyme disease can be traced back to the late 1800s. In 1883, Alfred Buchwald, a German physician, recorded a degenerative skin disorder which later became known as acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans. In 1909, Dr. Arvid Afzelius told his colleagues that he had seen an expanding, round lesion on one of his patients that he thought might have developed after the patient was bitten by an Ixodes tick. In the 1920s and 1930s, several physicians noted a link between erythema migrans and joint pain, neurological symptoms, psychiatric problems, lymphocytomas and cardiac arrhythmias. In 1970, the first confirmed case of erythema migrans associated with a tick bite was reported in the United States by Dr. Rudolph Scrimenti (Where did Lyme Disease Come From? Is it New?, 2009). Then in 1974, a cluster of juvenile arthritis cases was reported in Lyme, Connecticut. Scientists investigating the cluster named the disorder Lyme arthritis after the city of Lyme, Connecticut (Preece,
The Epidemiology of Lyme Disease
Justin Brewer
Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR 442: Community Health Nursing
Spring, 2009
The Epidemiology of Lyme Disease Lyme disease is a significant public health concern in the United States. Despite a growing knowledge of the disease, the incidence of Lyme disease continues to increase (Corapi, White, Phillips, Daltroy, Shadick, & Liang, 2007). Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, is found naturally in the environment. However, the transfer of the bacteria to humans is preventable. Although not considered life threatening, Lyme disease can have significant neurovascular and musculoskeletal side effects which can last a lifetime (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007). The increased rate of infection and the potential for severe illness or impairment warrants intervention by health care officials and government agencies.
Historical Significance The signs and symptoms of Lyme disease can be traced back to the late 1800s. In 1883, Alfred Buchwald, a German physician, recorded a degenerative skin disorder which later became known as acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans. In 1909, Dr. Arvid Afzelius told his colleagues that he had seen an expanding, round lesion on one of his patients that he thought might have developed after the patient was bitten by an Ixodes tick. In the 1920s and 1930s, several physicians noted a link between erythema migrans and joint pain, neurological symptoms, psychiatric problems, lymphocytomas and cardiac arrhythmias. In 1970, the first confirmed case of erythema migrans associated with a tick bite was reported in the United States by Dr. Rudolph Scrimenti (Where did Lyme Disease Come From? Is it New?, 2009). Then in 1974, a cluster of juvenile arthritis cases was reported in Lyme, Connecticut. Scientists investigating the cluster named the disorder Lyme arthritis after the city of Lyme, Connecticut (Preece,
References: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2007, August 9). Lyme Disease Symptoms. Retrieved May 11, 2009, from Brown University. (2005). Development of Vaccines to Infectious Disease; Lyme Disease. Retrieved May 9, 2009, from http://www.brown.edu/Courses/Bio_160/Projects2005/lyme_disease/epidemiology.htm Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008, October 7). Lyme Disease Diagnosis. Retrieved May 11, 2009, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008, October 8). Lyme Disease Treatment and Prognosis Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008, August 12). Protect Yourself from Tick Bites. Retrieved May 11, 2009, from www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/Prevention/ld_Prevention_Avoid.htm Corapi, K (2007). Strategies for Primary and Secondary Prevention of Lyme Disease. Nature Clinical Practice Rheumatology ,3 (1), 20-25. Healthy People 2010: 14 Immunization and Infectious Diseases. (n.d.). Retrieved May 9, 2009, from http://www.healthypeople.gov/Document/HTML/Volume1/14Immunization.htm Preece, A. (2008). Lyme Disease: Rising Incidence and Risk. British Journal of Neuroscience Nursing , 4(3), 115-117. Where did Lyme Disease Come From? Is it New? (2009). Retrieved May 9, 2009, from Lyme Disease Foundation, Inc.: http://www.lyme.org/otherdis/ld_history.html