Southern Tier sees increase in confirmed cases of Lyme disease

SOUTHERN TIER (WBNG) - Southern tier residents continue to show up to doctors’ offices throughout the area with cases of Lyme disease.

The disease is caused by the bacterium borrelia burgdorferi and is the most common vector-borne illness in the U.S., according to the U.S. centers for disease control and prevention.

The disease transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks. as health experts note, the early symptoms can usually be recognized right away.

The number of cases in the southern tier for 2023 are already on track to surpass last year’s total, according to an article from Yahoo news, Broome County had a total of 704 confirmed cases in 2022, so far in 2023 there were 504 confirmed cases reported through the month of July.

These numbers reported this early have those in the medical field nervous going into the fall and winter months.

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