Working Group Reports | HHS.gov

Working Group Reports | HHS.gov

Task force calls for research on tick-borne diseases

A federal working group tasked with studying tick-borne diseases released its first-ever report this morning, calling the conditions a "serious, potentially deadly, and rapidly growing threat to public health.” Lyme disease alone — the most commonly reported tick-borne illness in the U.S. — is estimated to affect more than 300,000 people in the U.S. The group pinpointed a handful of priorities: improve early diagnosis; develop rapid and accurate lab tests; better track cases; and find new treatments. But the group notes those steps will take dedicated funding.