2016 Reported Cases of
Lyme Disease in Maryland
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
EASTERN SHORE
No cases of Lyme disease were reported last year (2016) in either Dorchester or Worcester County. (That is over 1,200 sqare miles of mostly rural land area from which no one had a case of Lyme disease.)
Only 7 cases of Lyme disease were reported in Somerset County.
Wicomico County reported only 10 cases. There were 12 in Caroline and 15 cases each in Kent and Talbot Counties.
There was a total of 59 reported cases from 7 of the 9 eastern shore counties.
Rounding out the top 10 sites with the lowest number of reported cases of Lyme disease is across the bridge in Baltimore City with 39 reported cases.
QUESTION- Are there really more ticks in Baltimore City giving people Lyme disease than in nine of the rural counties in Maryland?
Queen Anne County reported 47 cases, Cecil had 68 cases.
TOTAL- 174 cases of Lyme disease from the Eastern Shore (out of 1,874 cases state wide).
WESTERN SHORE
12 cases were reported in Garrett County, and 18 cases were reported in Charles County. See charts linked below for more information on individual counties.
TOTAL- 1,700 Cases on the Western Shore.
2016 Maryland Cases- ALL Reportable Diseases
Maryland Cases of Lyme By County- 1990 thru 1999
Maryland Cases of Lyme By County- 2000 thru 2016
Babesiosis Reported Cases
There were 6 cases of Babesiosis reported statewide. One case was reported in Baltimore County, one in Frederick County and one in St. Mary’s County. Howard County reported the other 3 cases.
Malaria appears almost identical to Babesia on blood slides. Doctors in Maryland have reported they see more cases of Babesia duncani than Babesia microti, however, the Maryland DOH does not count Babesia duncani cases.
In 2009 there were 957 reported animal bites. Each year since there have been over 10,000 reported animal bites in Maryland.
There were 6 cases of West Nile reported state wide, one in each of 6 counties on the western shore. None on the eastern shore.
36 cases of Ehrlichiosis were reported statewide 8 from the entire eastern shore, 12 from Anne Arundel County, and the rest from several western shore counties.
1 case of Spotted fever- Wicomico County.
0 cases of Q-Fever.
0 cases of Tularemia.
Source- https://phpa.health.maryland.gov/IDEHASharedDocuments/2016%20counts%20FINAL%20UPD%206-8-18.pdf
Lucy Barnes