Enhancing Lyme Disease Surveillance by Using Administrative Claims Data, Tennessee, USA

Abstract

Lyme disease is underreported in the United States. We used insurance administrative claims data to determine the value of such data in enhancing case ascertainment in Tennessee during January 2011–June 2013. Although we identified ≈20% more cases of Lyme disease (5/year), the method was resource intensive and not sustainable in this low-incidence state.

Keywords

• Lyme disease
• Borrelia burgdorferi
• public health surveillance
• bacteria
• Tennesee
• United States