New Map Shows Lyme Disease Risk

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- A recent map by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that shows the risks of Lyme Disease highlights a high level of occurrences in the Northeast, according to National Geographic.

The highest risk counties in the country includes Morris County, New Jersey, several counties in Pennsylvania, and one each in Delaware and Massachusetts.
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by Jason Bisnoff

07/27/2015 1:00 p.m.

This comes as little surprise considering that the disease is named for the place where it was first diagnosed: Lyme, Conn.

High awareness in the region comes due to the terrible side effects that come with Lyme and to other extents the similarly caused erlichiosis, anaplasmosis and babesiosis.

Older maps by the CDC pinpointed one spot per occurrence, but the latest iteration shows the risk level of acquiring the disease, which causes arthritis and neurological problems, by county, reports National Geographic. It is spread by the bite of infected deer ticks.

The maps shows increases in cases. In 1993, 69 counties in the country qualified as high-risk areas. In 2012 there were 260, which is a 400 percent increase.

In 1993, high-risk counties were concentrated in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, and to a smaller extent western Wisconsin. The most recent data shows high-risk areas in 17 states and expanding, according to National Geographic.

Click here to read the full story at National Geographic.

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