Lyme Disease Prevalence in the Northeast

Level 3
tick on hand
Adult female black-legged tick on a hand. Photo credit: Kelly Oggenfuss.

Lyme disease prevalence in the Northeast United States data

background information and more resources

You can also explore this dataset on TUVA, an interactive graphing platform.

Background

Since the early 1980s, Lyme disease has been a growing scourge for residents of the Northeastern United States. The Center for Disease Control now estimates that as many as 300,000 Americans are diagnosed annually with Lyme disease, which causes fever, exhaustion, joint pain/stiffness, headaches, forgetfulness, facial paralysis and more (CDC 2015).The black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) is the primary vector of the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, which is called Borrelia burgdorferi.

In this dataset, students can explore how the prevalence of Lyme disease has changed over time in the Northeast.

Data Sampling & Compilation

Data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/index.html)

Prepared by Jonathan Howe (Indian Mountain School) & Jessica Donnelly (Queensbury HS)

Register for Data Jam

Deadlines & Dates

November 15 – Early bird registration deadline to be considered for a classroom visit.
January 17 – All registrations due. (All team information will be entered during project submission, not during registration.)
February 6 – Student consent forms due.
February 26 – Project submissions due online by 11:59pm EST.
April 3 – Virtual Data Jam Awards Ceremony & Celebration. All prizes awarded during the event.