Tickborne Disease Metadata: Near Real-Time Incidence

Origin:

Near real-time tickborne disease case incidence data are from the Maine CDC’s Infectious Disease Program’s notifiable diseases surveillance system. Population data used to calculate county-level rates are from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Dates Available:

2019 to date

Abstract:

The Maine EPHT program receives daily data on tickborne diseases from the Infectious Disease Program at the Maine CDC.

The dataset contains the following measures, assessed at present (year-to-date):

  1. Number of Lyme disease cases (State, County)
  2. Number of anaplasmosis cases (State, County)
  3. Number of babesiosis cases (State, County)
  4. Crude rate of Lyme disease per 100,000 population (County)
  5. Crude rate of anaplasmosis per 100,000 population (County)
  6. Crude rate of babesiosis per 100,000 population (County)

Purpose:

This data set supports efforts to improve public health in Maine and contributes to the U.S. CDC’s National Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) Network. A key activity of participants in this network is to track and make available environmental health measures on state and national data portals. Measures derived from the data set described here can be used to compare tickborne disease incidence across the state, and over time.

The Maine Tracking Network, a member of the National EPHT Network, connects communities, public health professionals, policy makers, state agencies, and others to the data they need to monitor public health, respond to health concerns, prioritize resources for public health action, and evaluate prevention activities. Maine tracks certain health effects, exposures, and environmental hazards that have known relationships, as well as some health effects and environmental hazards that have suspected relationships. By making health and environmental data available through the Maine Tracking Network, more people have access to data they need to think critically and hypothesize about health outcomes and their relationships to conditions in the environment.

Supplemental Information:

Anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Lyme disease are nationally notifiable conditions in the U.S. The tickborne disease measures on the EPHT portal enable surveillance functions including the monitoring of trends over time and the identification of high risk groups.

Tickborne disease cases are classified according to the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists’ case definitions. Case definitions have changed over time; anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Lyme disease cases are classified according to the most current case definition at the time of report.

Only Maine residents are included in these data.

Entity and Attribute Overview:

The dataset includes the following fields: county of residence (if not state-level data), year of diagnosis, system access date, number of cases of anaplasmosis, rate of anaplasmosis (per 100,000 population), number of cases of babesiosis, rate of babesiosis (per 100,000 population), number of cases of Lyme disease, and rate of Lyme disease (per 100,000 population).

Data Limitations:

  • Lyme disease classification takes longer than classification for anaplasmosis or babesiosis – sometimes as long as several months. Lyme disease totals shown here may be incomplete as of the current date, and retrospective case counts may increase by large amounts as providers return case report forms related to suspected cases.
  • Surveillance data are reported by place of patient residence, which is not necessarily the place where the tickborne disease was acquired.
  • Rates are calculated as latest partial-year case totals per total population; they are not annualized. Therefore, rates reported here are not comparable to annual rates found elsewhere, and will increase throughout the year.
  • Rates are crude rates, unadjusted for age and sex distributions.
  • Population data are based on the previous year, so do not reflect changes in population in the present year.
  • The data do not include the nature of clinical manifestations or the health outcomes associated with anaplasmosis, babesiosis or Lyme disease.
  • Data are considered preliminary and subject to change.

Access Constraints:

None.

More Information:

Suggested Citation for Data Displays:

Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Maine Tracking Network. Tickborne Disease: Near Real Time Data. Available online: https://data.mainepublichealth.gov/tracking/. Accessed on [date accessed].