Epidemiology of Lyme disease
What is the geographic distribution and seasonal occurrence of Lyme disease in the United States? In what other countries has it been reported?
Lyme disease is tick-borne and is most prevalent from April or May to November in the endemic areas. The peak incidence is in the late spring and early summer months of June and July. Lyme disease has been reported in many of the 48 contiguous states, but most cases occur in three regions:
• Northeast coast between Maine and Maryland
• The Midwest in Wisconsin and Minnesota
• Western coast of northern California and Oregon
The disease also occurs in Europe (highest in the Netherlands, Belgium, Slovenia, Austria, Lithuania, and Estonia) and cases have been reported in Asia (China and Mongolia). Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States and Europe and the second most common in the world (malaria being the most common).