TY - JOUR AU - Ertel, Starr-Hope AU - Nelson, Randall AU - Cartter, Matthew T1 - Effect of Surveillance Method on Reported Characteristics of Lyme Disease, Connecticut, 1996–2007 T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2012 VL - 18 IS - 2 SP - 242 SN - 1080-6059 AB - To determine the effect of changing public health surveillance methods on the reported epidemiology of Lyme disease, we analyzed Connecticut data for 1996–2007. Data were stratified by 4 surveillance methods and compared. A total of 87,174 reports were received that included 79,896 potential cases. Variations based on surveillance methods were seen. Cases reported through physician-based surveillance were significantly more likely to be classified as confirmed; such case-patients were significantly more likely to have symptoms of erythema migrans only and to have illness onset during summer months. Case-patients reported through laboratory-based surveillance were significantly more likely to have late manifestations only and to be older. Use of multiple surveillance methods provided a more complete clinical and demographic description of cases but lacked efficiency. When interpreting data, changes in surveillance method must be considered. KW - epidemiologic methods KW - data collection KW - population surveillance KW - endemic diseases KW - public health practice KW - Lyme disease KW - Connecticut KW - bacteria KW - vector-borne infections KW - United States DO - 10.3201/eid1802.101219 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/18/2/10-1219_article ER - End of Reference