Lyme Disease on the Rise in Massachusetts

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lyme disease cases have been on the rise in Massachusetts in recent years, and once again, as temperature climb this spring, residents are at increased risk for tickborne illness.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Lyme disease rates in Massachusetts rose from 23.9 cases per 100,000 residents in 2004 to 61 cases in 2009, then tumbled to 27.3 cases in 2011. But in 2012, the agency recorded 51.1 cases per 100,000 Bay Staters, followed by 57 cases in 2013, the most recent year for which data is available.