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Geographic Expansion of Lyme Disease in the Southeastern United States, 2000-2014.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Lantos, PM; Nigrovic, LE; Auwaerter, PG; Fowler, VG; Ruffin, F; Brinkerhoff, RJ; Reber, J; Williams, C; Broyhill, J; Pan, WK; Gaines, DN
Published in: Open Forum Infect Dis
December 2015

Background.  The majority of Lyme disease cases in the United States are acquired on the east coast between northern Virginia and New England. In recent years the geographic extent of Lyme disease has been expanding, raising the prospect of Lyme disease becoming endemic in the southeast. Methods.  We collected confirmed and probable cases of Lyme disease from 2000 through 2014 from the Virginia Department of Health and North Carolina Department of Public Health and entered them in a geographic information system. We performed spatial and spatiotemporal cluster analyses to characterize Lyme disease expansion. Results.  There was a marked increase in Lyme disease cases in Virginia, particularly from 2007 onwards. Northern Virginia experienced intensification and geographic expansion of Lyme disease cases. The most notable area of expansion was to the southwest along the Appalachian Mountains with development of a new disease cluster in the southern Virginia mountain region. Conclusions.  The geographic distribution of Lyme disease cases significantly expanded in Virginia between 2000 and 2014, particularly southward in the Virginia mountain ranges. If these trends continue, North Carolina can expect autochthonous Lyme disease transmission in its mountain region in the coming years.

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Published In

Open Forum Infect Dis

DOI

ISSN

2328-8957

Publication Date

December 2015

Volume

2

Issue

4

Start / End Page

ofv143

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • 3207 Medical microbiology
  • 3202 Clinical sciences
 

Citation

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Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Lantos, P. M., Nigrovic, L. E., Auwaerter, P. G., Fowler, V. G., Ruffin, F., Brinkerhoff, R. J., … Gaines, D. N. (2015). Geographic Expansion of Lyme Disease in the Southeastern United States, 2000-2014. Open Forum Infect Dis, 2(4), ofv143. https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofv143
Lantos, Paul M., Lise E. Nigrovic, Paul G. Auwaerter, Vance G. Fowler, Felicia Ruffin, R Jory Brinkerhoff, Jodi Reber, et al. “Geographic Expansion of Lyme Disease in the Southeastern United States, 2000-2014.Open Forum Infect Dis 2, no. 4 (December 2015): ofv143. https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofv143.
Lantos PM, Nigrovic LE, Auwaerter PG, Fowler VG, Ruffin F, Brinkerhoff RJ, et al. Geographic Expansion of Lyme Disease in the Southeastern United States, 2000-2014. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2015 Dec;2(4):ofv143.
Lantos, Paul M., et al. “Geographic Expansion of Lyme Disease in the Southeastern United States, 2000-2014.Open Forum Infect Dis, vol. 2, no. 4, Dec. 2015, p. ofv143. Pubmed, doi:10.1093/ofid/ofv143.
Lantos PM, Nigrovic LE, Auwaerter PG, Fowler VG, Ruffin F, Brinkerhoff RJ, Reber J, Williams C, Broyhill J, Pan WK, Gaines DN. Geographic Expansion of Lyme Disease in the Southeastern United States, 2000-2014. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2015 Dec;2(4):ofv143.
Journal cover image

Published In

Open Forum Infect Dis

DOI

ISSN

2328-8957

Publication Date

December 2015

Volume

2

Issue

4

Start / End Page

ofv143

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • 3207 Medical microbiology
  • 3202 Clinical sciences