title: Using exploratory data analysis to identify and predict patterns of human Lyme disease case clustering within a multistate region, 2010-2014.
abstract: Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vectorborne disease in the United States. The objective of our study was to identify patterns of Lyme disease reporting after multistate inclusion to mitigate potential border effects. County-level human Lyme disease surveillance data were obtained from Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia state health departments. Rate smoothing and Local Moran's I was performed to identify clusters of reporting activity and identify spatial outliers. A logistic generalized estimating equation was performed to identify significant associations in disease clustering over time. Resulting analyses identified statistically significant (P=0.05) clusters of high reporting activity and trends over time. High reporting activity aggregated near border counties in high incidence states, while low reporting aggregated near shared county borders in non-high incidence states. Findings highlight the need for exploratory surveillance approaches to describe the extent to which state level reporting affects accurate estimation of Lyme disease progression.
authors.affiliation: West Virginia University School of Public Health, One Medical Center Drive, PO Box 9190, Morgantown, WV 26506, United States ; West Virginia Bureau of Public Health Office of Epidemiology and Preventative Services, 350 Capital St., Charleston, WV 25301, United States . Electronic address: bmhendricks@mix.wvu.edu.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hendricks
authors.affiliation: West Virginia University School of Public Health, One Medical Center Drive, PO Box 9190, Morgantown, WV 26506, United States ; West Virginia Bureau of Public Health Office of Epidemiology and Preventative Services, 350 Capital St., Charleston, WV 25301, United States.
authors.forename: Miguella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mark-Carew
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007629:Kentucky; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008396:Maryland; D009820:Ohio; D010414:Pennsylvania; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014768:Virginia; D014903:West Virginia
keywords: Local Moran's I; Lyme disease; Surveillance