Mapping Lyme Disease Incidence
Mapping Lyme Disease Incidence
To support diagnostic and preventive decision making, we analyzed incidence of Lyme disease in Maryland on the zip code level. Areas of high incidence were identified on the Upper Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay and in counties north and east of Baltimore City. These latter foci, especially, are not visible when mapping Lyme disease on the county level."
Lyme disease (LD) is a multisystem infectious and inflammatory disease resulting from infection with the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. It is by far the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the United States and is transmitted by the bite of infected Ixodes scapularis ticks . In the United States, areas at high risk for the disease focally occur in temperate wooded habitats sustaining B. burgdorferi's small mammalian hosts, predominantly the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus), as well as the preferred mating place for adult ticks,on the white-tailed deer (Odocoilus virginianus) .
We have reported the incidence of LD for Maryland by county . Glass and colleagues developed a detailed LD risk map of Baltimore County by using environmental risk factors within a geographic information system (GIS) . The objective of our report is to show areas of high incidence of LD on a level more detailed than the standard reporting by county. The next most detailed geographic boundary system for which population data are available is the zip code level. It provides intermediate detail between counties and census blocks. The zip code also allows incidence calculations based on census population figures and, by relying on postal address, uses a feature of geographic reference very commonly available to state health departments n Maryland and elsewhere. We believe this level of detail in mapping the focal distribution of LD will improve decision-making regarding diagnoses, personal and community interventions, and cost-effective use of vaccine.
To support diagnostic and preventive decision making, we analyzed incidence of Lyme disease in Maryland on the zip code level. Areas of high incidence were identified on the Upper Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay and in counties north and east of Baltimore City. These latter foci, especially, are not visible when mapping Lyme disease on the county level."
Lyme disease (LD) is a multisystem infectious and inflammatory disease resulting from infection with the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. It is by far the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the United States and is transmitted by the bite of infected Ixodes scapularis ticks . In the United States, areas at high risk for the disease focally occur in temperate wooded habitats sustaining B. burgdorferi's small mammalian hosts, predominantly the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus), as well as the preferred mating place for adult ticks,on the white-tailed deer (Odocoilus virginianus) .
We have reported the incidence of LD for Maryland by county . Glass and colleagues developed a detailed LD risk map of Baltimore County by using environmental risk factors within a geographic information system (GIS) . The objective of our report is to show areas of high incidence of LD on a level more detailed than the standard reporting by county. The next most detailed geographic boundary system for which population data are available is the zip code level. It provides intermediate detail between counties and census blocks. The zip code also allows incidence calculations based on census population figures and, by relying on postal address, uses a feature of geographic reference very commonly available to state health departments n Maryland and elsewhere. We believe this level of detail in mapping the focal distribution of LD will improve decision-making regarding diagnoses, personal and community interventions, and cost-effective use of vaccine.
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