Lyme Evidence Sheet
Reviewed 2026-07-24What are the limits of Lyme maps and county data?
Maps summarize published surveillance records. They do not diagnose a person, show every infection, or substitute for a discussion of symptoms, exposure, and testing with a clinician.
What the evidence says
- CDC provides public Lyme surveillance data with geographic aggregation.
- CDC’s case-map materials describe surveillance patterns rather than personal risk.
What this can tell you
- What a published geographic pattern looks like.
- Why the displayed year and reporting context matter.
What this cannot tell you
- Whether a particular tick exposure caused illness.
- A personal diagnosis or treatment decision.
Sources (2)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ‘Lyme Disease Public Use Aggregated Data with Geography, 2022–2023.’ https://data.cdc.gov/National-Center-for-Emerging-and-Zoonotic-Infectio/Lyme-disease-public-use-aggregated-data-with-geogr/x5j9-wybp. Accessed July 24, 2026. Open source ↗
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ‘Lyme Disease Case Map.’ https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/data-research/facts-stats/lyme-disease-case-map.html. Accessed July 24, 2026. Open source ↗