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Lyme disease is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, and is passed from one person or animal to another by the bite of the pinhead-sized tick Ixodes dammini. Although it was first described in 1977 in Lyme, Connecticut, the disease is not new nor is it limited to Lyme: New York State accounted for over half the reported cases in 1988. This article describes the spread of Lyme disease in New York State from 1977 to 1989. Between 1977 and 1981, 150 cases were reported; between 1986 and 1989, the number grew to 8,357 (of which 4,174 met the case definition, presented in a table). The number of confirmed cases of Lyme disease reported in 1989 was 1,942. As these figures increased, so, too, did the number of hospital discharges related to Lyme disease. The range of Ixodes dammini during the years studied is plotted. Before 1986, Lyme disease transmission in New York State took place in only four counties (Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, Putnam): later, four adjacent counties were known sites of transmission (Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, Ulster). The considerable increase in the incidence of Lyme disease results in part from increased awareness, better diagnostic techniques, overdiagnosis and better reporting, as well as a true increase in the number of cases. As the range of infected and uninfected Ixodes dammini has expanded beyond its original range in Connecticut and Long Island, the Lyme disease rate has climbed. It is likely that reported rates underestimate the incidence of the disease. Physicians and patients alike should be aware of the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Five cases of human babesiosis were reported in the Lower Hudson Valley Region of New York State in 2001. An investigation to determine if Babesia microti was present in local [...]

After the 1999 West Nile (WN) encephalitis outbreak in New York, 2,300 overwintering adult mosquitoes were tested for WN virus by cell culture and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. WN viral [...]

West Nile (WN) virus was found throughout New York State in 2000, with the epicenter in New York City and surrounding counties. We tested 3,403 dead birds and 9,954 mosquito [...]

West Nile (WN) virus was detected in the metropolitan New York City (NYC) area during the summer and fall of 1999. Sixty-two human cases, 7 fatal, were documented. The New [...]

An outbreak of encephalitis due to West Nile (WN) virus occurred in New York City and the surrounding areas during 1999. Mosquitoes were collected as part of a comprehensive surveillance [...]

The relationship between habitat structural composition, presence of Ixodes scapularis Say (I. dansmini Spielman, Clifford, Piesman, and Corwin), and the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi infection in small mammal populations was studied at 12 4-ha study sites selected within two perpendicular transects spanning New York State. Species-adjusted small mammal infection rates (SARs) were calculated to enable comparison of B. burgdorferi infection rates among sites with differing small mammal species composition and were used as the outcome variable in a predictive model. Sites with high SARs were characterized by lower overstory tree canopy height and basal area, increased understory coverage, substantial understory shrub coverage, decreased presence of surface water or saturated soil, high dominance values for I. scapularis, and higher tick burdens on small mammals. These differences were statistically significant from sites with moderate or low SAR values, Understory foliage height profiles were created for each study site, and significant differences in vegetation structural composition between high SAR sites and those with low or moderate SAR were documented. High SAR sites had increased density of herbaceous foliage at 0 and 25 cm, and higher shrub density at 0, 25, and 50 cm measurements above the ground, associated with I. scapularis questing success, and lower densities of sapling trees at 25, 50, and 75 cm. The structural composition of understory vegetation may dictate vector density and predict B. burgdorferi infection rates in small mammals in New York State. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemiological data on 136 cases of human babesiosis reported from laboratories and clinicians in the state of New York from 1982 to 1991 were reviewed. All but two patients, who had traveled to Nantucket Island in Massachusetts, acquired disease in Suffolk County, Long Island. The highest average age-group-specific annual incidence rates occurred among men ⩾80 years of age (7.72 per 100,000) and among women 70–79 years of age (3.61 per 100,000). Seven patients (5%) had previously undergone splenectomy, and 31 (23%) had evidence of concurrent Lyme disease. One hundred three patients (76%) were hospitalized, and seven (5%) died. Although the geographic distribution of this disease has remained constant, the recent introduction of babesiosis in mainland Connecticut and the spread of Lyme disease in New York suggest that the geographic distribution of babesiosis could also spread in New York. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]