Lyme Disease Found in 46 States; Big Increase in N.Y. Cases Reported

Lyme disease, the debilitating tick-borne infection discovered in 1975, has since been reported in 46 states and has increased dramatically in New York state, reports published Tuesday show.

Nationally, more than 30,000 cases of the disease have been reported since 1982, a sixteenfold increase, said David Dennis, a researcher for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Increased awareness of the disease, more reporting and an actual higher incidence and geographic spread of the infection probably play a part in the increase, Dennis said.

Reported cases of the disease in New York, which has the most in the country, rose dramatically from 1986 to 1989, the state Health Department said. The New York study said 419 cases were reported in 1986, followed by 769 the next year, 3,031 in 1988 and 4,138 in 1989.

The figures may reflect the fact that the disease became legally reportable in the state in 1986, but there is evidence of a “true increase” in the infection, the report said.