Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Reported Lyme Disease, United States, 2020

David W Mccormick,Grace E Marx,Alison F Hinckley,Kiersten J Kugeler,Praveena Jayanthi,Stephanie Dietz,Paul Mead

doi:10.3201/eid2710.210903

Abstract

Surveys indicate US residents spent more time outdoors in 2020 than in 2019, but fewer tick bite–related emergency department visits and Lyme disease laboratory tests were reported. Despite ongoing exposure, Lyme disease case reporting for 2020 might be artificially reduced due to coronavirus disease–associated changes in healthcare-seeking behavior.

Highlights

Surveys indicate US residents spent more time outdoors in 2020 than in 2019, but fewer tick bite–related emergency department visits and Lyme disease laboratory tests were reported
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has altered how humans interact with their environment and the healthcare system [1,2], and strained resources have limited the ability of state and local health departments to respond to reports of notifiable diseases [3]
Most Lyme disease cases are acquired in spring and early summer [5]; in 2020, these seasons coincided with the initial spread of COVID-19 and widespread stay-at-home orders

Summary

Introduction

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) typically is notified of 30,000–40,000 Lyme disease cases annually [4], but the COVID-19 pandemic likely will affect the case counts. We explored 4 data sources to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic might have influenced tick bite risk and associated healthcare-seeking practices and affected reported Lyme disease cases for 2020. The pandemic might have altered the frequency of outdoor activities and probability of encountering ticks, healthcare-seeking and provider services patterns, and case investigation and reporting.

Results

Conclusion