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Lyme Disease

Lyme disease (LD), a multisystem infection that is manifested by progressive stages (1), is emerging in central and eastern provinces of Canada due to northward expansion of the geographic range of Ixodes scapularis, the main vector in these regions (2). In 2004, approximately 40 human cases of LD were reported in Canada. In 2009, LD disease became nationally notifiable, with provincial and territorial health departments reporting clinician-diagnosed cases to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). This study summarizes seven years (2009-2015) of national surveillance data for LD in Canada.

Objective: This study aims to describe incidence over time, geographic and seasonal distribution, demographic and clinical characteristics of Lyme disease cases in Canada.

Submitted by elamb on

Climate warming, globalization, social and economic crises lead to the activation of natural foci of vector-borne infections, among which a special place belongs to Lyme disease (Ixodic tick borreliosis – ITB), the vectors of which are the Ixodes ticks. More than 5,000 cases are registered in the United States every year. In European countries, the number of cases may reach up to 8,000-10,000 per year. Incidence rate for ITB in France is 39.4 per 100,000 population, in Bulgaria – 36.6. In Ukraine, among all ticks, 10-70% are infected with Borrelia; from 10% to 42.2% of Ukrainian population had contact with the causative agent of ITB. Mathematical modeling as an element of monitoring of natural focal infections makes it possible to assess the epidemiological potential of foci in the region and in individual territories, to forecast the trends of the epidemic process and to determine the main priorities and directions in the prevention of ITB. The most modern and effective method of simulation is multi-agent simulation, which is associated with the concept of an intelligent agent, as some robot, purposefully interacting with other similar elements and the external environment under given conditions. An intelligent agent is an imitation model of an active element, the state and behavior of which in various situations of achieving the goal vary depending on the state and behavior of other agents and the environment, in analogy with the intellectual behavior of a live organism (including a human) under similar conditions. As the epidemic process of Lyme disease is characterized by vector transmission, heterogeneous tick population, variable pathogen infectivity, heterogeneous environment, and seasonal changes in tick activity, the use of classical statistical methods for predicting the dynamics of morbidity cannot show high accuracy. The multiagent approach to simulation of the epidemic process of Lyme disease allows considering all of the above features, and since the dynamics of the modeled system is formed from the behavior of local objects (humans and ticks), we expect that a model constructed using a multiagent approach will yield a higher accuracy of prognosis morbidity. The multiagent model will allow not only to calculate the forecast, but also to reveal the factors influencing increase of the incidence of Lyme disease the most.

Objective: The objective of this research is to develop the model for calculating the forecast of the Lyme disease dynamics what will help to take effective preventive and control measures using the intelligent multi-agent approach.

Submitted by elamb on
  • Why the syndrome was created? This syndrome was created to monitor Lyme disease related emergency room visits using regular expressions in R. 
  • Syndromic surveillance system (e.g., ESSENCE, R STUDIO, RODS, etc.) Data collected from Epicenter, but parsed and analysed in R/Rstudio
  • Data sources the syndrome was used on (e.g., Emergency room, EMS, Air Quality, etc.) Emergency room and Urgent Care
Submitted by Anonymous on

Uploaded on behalf of Grace Marx, MD, MPH: Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, CDC.

 

This syndrome definition was created to explore tick through Syndromic data as an efficient approach to monitor the tick-borne diseases and the utility of tick bite visits to predict the seasonal peak in Lyme disease.

This was created in NSSP ESSENCE, using the Chief Complaint Query Validation (CCQV) data to ensure a broad application across different states and jurisdictions.

Submitted by ZSteinKS on

Uploaded on behalf of Grace Marx, MD, MPH: Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, CDC.

 

This syndrome definition was created to explore Lyme disease through Syndromic data as an efficient approach to monitor the disease. 

This was created in NSSP ESSENCE, using the Chief Complaint Query Validation (CCQV) data to ensure a broad application across different states and jurisdictions.

Submitted by ZSteinKS on

Over the past seven years, the number of Lyme Disease (LD) cases in Anne Arundel County has more than doubled, from 84 in 2000 to 196 in 2007, which correlates to CDC findings. It is endemic in 10 states, including Maryland, and Anne Arundel County has the second highest number of LD cases in the state. Despite the increasing prevalence and growing public concern, there is no definitive evidence regarding efficacy of personal preventive measures and environmental interventions. Other county-level studies have investigated risk factors, but none have included the investigation as a part of routine surveillance or narrowed the study population to cases with a known exposure date range.

 

Objective

In order to respond to the increase of reports of LD to local health departments and the limited utility of routine LD surveillance, active surveillance activities were focused on collecting exposure data from LD cases with a reasonably narrow date range of exposure.

Referenced File
Submitted by elamb on

LD, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi in North America is transmitted to humans from wild animal reservoir hosts by Ixodes spp. ticks1 in their woodland habitats2. LD risk in Canada occurs where tick vectors are established in southern British Columbia (I. pacificus) and in southern parts of central and eastern Canada where I. scapularis is spreading from the United States (US)3. LD became nationally notifiable in Canada in 2009 and demographic data on human cases is submitted by provinces to Canadian Notifiable Disease Surveillance System of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). A Lyme Disease Enhanced Surveillance system was initiated by PHAC in 2010 to obtain more detailed data on LD cases. These surveillance systems aim to identify changing trends in LD incidence, the population at risk and the types of clinical disease in Canada. Surveillance data for 2009-2012 are analyzed to describe the early patterns of LD emergence in Canada. Patterns of LD cases (age, season of acquisition and presenting manifestations) were compared against those reported in the US.

Objective

To summarize the first 4 years (2009-2012) of national surveillance for LD in Canada and to conduct a preliminary comparison of presenting clinical manifestations in Canada and the United-States

Submitted by Magou on

Lyme disease is an emerging disease in Michigan and is the most commonly reported vector-borne illness. The bacterium causing Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, is transmitted to humans or dogs through the bite of an infected tick. In the spring of 2015, a veterinarian from an island on Lake Michigan began to see locally acquired Lyme disease in pets. In previous years the vector of Lyme disease, Ixodes scapularis, had not been found on the island. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) was invited to the island to conduct an environmental investigation and provide health education to local residents.

Submitted by teresa.hamby@d… on
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