PA has the highest rate of Lyme disease, the bad news is that 50% of ticks are carrying some type of disease, the good news is that it's not necessarily Lyme.
https://www.inquirer.com/news/tick-l...-20190613.html
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PA has the highest rate of Lyme disease, the bad news is that 50% of ticks are carrying some type of disease, the good news is that it's not necessarily Lyme.
https://www.inquirer.com/news/tick-l...-20190613.html
Thanks for sharing.
Good to know.
Interesting statistic, which got me to poke around a little in Lyme disease statistical data, which can be confusing. At first glance it would appear PA is at the top of the list to contract Lyme disease now, however statistics can be misleading and there are some statistical variables that come into play.
Maine has the highest incidence rate of Lyme disease @ 86.4 per 100,000 residents with total confirmed cases of 1,151 people, making it the highest incidence rate of Lyme disease in US States. The percentage of rural population living outside of population centers (as defined by the US Census Bureau) is 60.1%
Vermont has the second highest incidence rate of Lyme disease at 78.1 per 100,000 residents with total confirmed cases of 488. The percentage of rural population is 80.3% (it should be noted VT does not have any major population centers as defined by the USCB, Burlington the largest has appx. 42,000).
Pennsylvania has an incidence rate of 70.3 per 100,000 residents, the total confirmed cases are 8,988 people, making it the highest number of people in US States who have contracted the disease. The percentage of rural population is 27%. While the number of cases are highest in the US, the incidence rate is third highest in the US behind ME and VT.
Given this information, the location of disease exposure for many confirmed cases in PA may not have been in PA. Given the statistics and the relatively low percentage of rural population there is high likelihood a fair number of people contracted the disease in another State but diagnosed in their home State of PA. It still is a concerning picture of a disabling disease that can still avoid detection for long periods of time, never mind the incidence rate may not be at the same level as other States.