Facts.

Since the month is getting close to the end, and I haven't done much in terms of Lyme facts this month, I thought I would give you a list of some facts/statistics today. Sometimes seeing things in numbers, and seeing that those numbers are huge, can make you open your eyes a little more to the severity of something. I sincerely hope that is the case for you with these numbers. 

1. Lyme disease is the fastest vector-borne infectious disease in the United States.

2. There are 5 subspecies of borrelia burgdorferi--the bacteria that causes Lyme. 

3. There are 100 strains of borrelia burgdorferi in the United States and 300 strains worldwide. The large number of different strains contributes to its ability to evade the immune system and cause chronic problems. 

4. It is estimated that 300,000 people are infected by Lyme each year. And this number most likely isn't even as big as it should be, due to the unreliability of lab testing. 

5. Since 1992, when significant data was first collected on Lyme, the prevalence has increased 25-fold. 

6. There are 25,000 new cases of Lyme every month, 5,570 each week, 822 each day, and 34 each hour. And, even if those are not completely accurate numbers--even if there are actually more than that--I think they're big enough to be an issue, don't you? 

7. There are 0 accurate tests to determine whether the bacteria has been eradicated from the human body. Zero. 

8. Fewer than 50% of people who are diagnosed with Lyme remember a tick bite. 

9. The average Lyme patient sees over 5 doctors over the course of 2 years before being diagnosed. And because of that, 40% of patients have long term health effects. 

10. In patients who have been treated with only short term antibiotics, 40% relapse. 

I don't know about you, but those numbers don't sit right with me. There are so many smart people in this world. There is so much science and technology available to us. And yet these numbers are still this big. How is that the case? How are so many people in the world still sick? With Lyme, or otherwise. 

It's not okay. 

If these numbers don't seem right to you either, do something about it. Share this post. Read about Lyme prevention. Tell the people in your life about it. 

It's here. It's where you are. It's growing. It happened to me. And it could happen to you.