title: Testing practices and volume of non-Lyme tickborne diseases in the United States.
abstract: Large commercial laboratories in the United States were surveyed regarding the number of specimens tested for eight tickborne diseases in 2008. Seven large commercial laboratories reported testing a total of 2,927,881 specimens nationally (including Lyme disease). Of these, 495,585 specimens (17%) were tested for tickborne diseases other than Lyme disease. In addition to large commercial laboratories, another 1051 smaller commercial, hospital, and government laboratories in four states (CT, MD, MN, and NY) were surveyed regarding tickborne disease testing frequency, practices, and results. Ninety-two of these reported testing a total of 10,091 specimens for four tickborne diseases other than Lyme disease. We estimate the cost of laboratory diagnostic testing for non-Lyme disease tickborne diseases in 2008 to be $9.6 million. These data provide a baseline to evaluate trends in tickborne disease test utilization and insight into the burden of these diseases.
authors.affiliation: Connecticut Emerging Infections Program, Yale School of Public Health, One Church Street, 7th Floor, New Haven, CT, USA. Electronic address: connallyn@wcsu.edu.
authors.forename: Neeta P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Connally
authors.affiliation: Division of Vector-Borne Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3156 Rampart Road, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Alison F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Hinckley
authors.affiliation: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 201 W. Preston St., Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.affiliation: Minnesota Department of Health 625 Robert St. North, St. Paul, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kemperman
authors.affiliation: Minnesota Department of Health 625 Robert St. North, St. Paul, MN, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neitzel
authors.affiliation: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 201 W. Preston St., Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Siok-Bi
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Wee
authors.affiliation: Emerging Infections Program, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Division of Vector-Borne Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3156 Rampart Road, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Paul S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Mead
authors.affiliation: Connecticut Emerging Infections Program, Yale School of Public Health, One Church Street, 7th Floor, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: James I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Meek
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007158:Immunologic Techniques / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods*; D007753:Laboratories / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D008853:Microscopy / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods*; D017282:Tick-Borne Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States
keywords: Anaplasmosis; Babesiosis; Diagnostic testing; Laboratory; Tickborne disease