Death with Lyme Disease: The Number Could Be “Significant,” If The Question Were Looked At In A Broader Way

Lyme disease a rare cause of death: study

(Reuters Health) – While controversy still brews over the long-term effects of Lyme disease, a new government study concludes that the tick-borne illness is rarely a cause of death in the U.S.

Using death records collected from 45 U.S. states, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that between 1999 and 2003, there were 114 records listing Lyme disease as a cause of death.

But in most cases, Lyme disease was listed as one of multiple health problems contributing to a person’s death, and only 23 records showed the disease as the underlying cause.

Of those, the investigators say, just one was consistent with known “clinical manifestations” of Lyme disease. In that case, the person died of respiratory failure that the death record tied to long-term effects on the central nervous system. Read more.

Find out more about ILADS, International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society.