National survey of state epidemiologists to determine the status of Lyme disease surveillance.

In 1990, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and the Centers for Disease Control made Lyme disease (LD) nationally notifiable and developed a national case definition. State epidemiologists were surveyed about their State LD surveillance system. Responses were received from all States and the District of Columbia. As of November 1991, LD was notifiable in 45 States. A total of 44 of these 45 States use the 1990 national case definition for case confirmation. Twenty-five State health departments offer diagnostic testing for LD, and 38 States have conducted surveys for infected ticks. This study has shown that there has been greater standardization of LD reporting with the adoption of a new national case definition for LD. However, many States confirm cases using data that are not a part of the criteria used for the national case definition.