For years I have been a small voice shouting strongly, that there is something very wrong with our government. Few took notice or just ignored me. I shared my symptoms, my struggles, and my heart wrenching stories.
Today I can stand here proudly with my tin foiled hat, with tears of joy streaming down my face, as the information hidden becomes revealed for all to see.
Lyme Disease was made into a bio weapon! 🦠🦠🦠
And there is more information that our Government has been using bio weapon on its own civilians.😳
They expected their sequencing of Lyme-causing bacteria to take perhaps six months. “It took more like six years,” says Lemieux. “It turned out that the genetic diversity of Lyme disease is orders of magnitude harder to handle than any other pathogen.” And that complexity is associated with the wide range of Lyme disease symptoms—from severe arthritis in children to fatigue and potentially debilitating joint, neurological, and cardiovascular symptoms in adults—that persist in some patients for months or even years after treatment.
Rather than being concentrated in one place, “The genome of the Borrelia spirochete [it is a spiral-shaped bacterium] is shredded,” he explains. “There is one chromosome,” the double-stranded linear sequence of DNA found in most living cells, “but then there are about 20 plasmids.” Plasmids are small, circular strands of DNA that can replicate independently of the DNA in the main chromosome. And though extremely difficult to sequence, they turned out to be critical to understanding variations in the severity of Lyme disease.
The international Lyme disease experts with whom Lemieux and Sabeti collaborated analyzed 299 samples of Borrelia collected from across North America and Europe between 1992 and 2021, primarily from patients who had developed the bullseye rash characteristic of the infection. Correlating the samples to patient outcomes, they found that the most severe cases were associated with a surface protein coded by patterns of plasmids that occur only in certain strains of Borrelia. Lemieux, whose lab also studies COVID-19, a virus, notes that there is crossover between his lab’s studies of COVID infection and Lyme disease. “If you look at some of these plasmids,” he explains, “they used to be viruses that infected bacteria. In the history of evolution, what we are seeing today is a bacterium that has integrated into itself a range of viruses.” That virus-derived DNA is now linked to both the wide-ranging and lasting nature of symptoms associated with Lyme disease—clinical aspects of infection that are now familiar to the public in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic
https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2024/01/right-now-lyme-disease
The Government took it upon themselves to experiment on the human population, under the pretense that they were keeping our world safe.
Sound familiar??
US Department of Health and Human Services | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | MMWR | February 15, 2024 | Vol. 73 | No. 6
Weekly / Vol. 73 / No. 6 February 15, 2024
Surveillance for Lyme Disease After Implementation of a Revised Case Definition — United States, 2022
Kiersten J. Kugeler, PhD1; Austin Earley, MPH1; Paul S. Mead, MD1; Alison F Hinckley, PhD1
Abstract
Lyme disease, a tickborne zoonosis caused by certain species of Borrelia spirochetes, is the most common vectorborne disease in the United States. Approximately 90% of all cases are reported from 15 high-incidence jurisdictions in the Northeast, mid- Atlantic, and upper-Midwest regions. After the implementation of a revised surveillance case definition in 2022, high-incidence jurisdictions report cases based on laboratory evidence alone, without need for additional clinical information. In 2022, 62,551 Lyme disease cases were reported to CDC, 1.7 times the annual average of 37,118 cases reported during 2017–2019. Annual incidence increased most in older age groups, with incidence among adults aged ≥65 years approximately double that during 2017–2019. The sharp increase in reported Lyme disease cases in 2022 likely reflects changes in surveillance meth- ods rather than change in disease risk. Although these changes improve standardization of surveillance across jurisdictions, they preclude detailed comparison with historical data.
Introduction
Lyme disease is a tickborne infection caused by spirochetes in the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex (1,2). Signs and symptoms of early disease include erythema migrans, a red, expanding rash often with central clearing, as well as fever and fatigue. Untreated infection can disseminate, affecting the heart, joints, and nervous system (1). National surveillance for Lyme disease in the United States began in 1991 and has documented a steady increase in incidence and geographic range. A majority of cases of Lyme disease are reported from 15 high-incidence jurisdictions (those reporting at least 10 confirmed cases per 100,000 population for 3 years) located in the Northeast, mid- Atlantic, and upper-Midwest regions* (3). Laboratory diagnosis
- As of 2022, high-incidence jurisdictions are Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
relies almost exclusively on serologic testing for antibodies to B. burgdorferi using a two-tier process (1).
Before 2022, national surveillance for Lyme disease required the collection of clinical information, most often coupled with laboratory evidence of infection, to classify cases. As the number of Lyme disease infections has increased, the workload associated with collecting clinical information has proven prohibitive in several high-incidence jurisdictions, leading to the adoption of modified, jurisdiction-specific surveillance practices, including in New York and Massachusetts (2, 4–6). These divergent approaches often precluded the reporting of cases to CDC and prevented accurate comparison of trends across jurisdictions and over time (3,7).
To address this challenge, effective January 1, 2022, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), in partnership with CDC, revised the national surveillance case definition for Lyme disease.† The revised case definition provides for reporting of cases from high-incidence jurisdictions based on laboratory evidence alone, without the need to collect addi- tional clinical information. Cases reported from low-incidence
† https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/conditions/lyme-disease/
INSIDE
124 Routes of Drug Use Among Drug Overdose Deaths — United States, 2020–2022
131 Hepatitis A Exposure Response and Outbreak Prevention in a Large Urban Jail — Los Angeles County, California, May–July 2023
135 Notes from the Field: Long COVID Prevalence Among Adults — United States, 2022
137 QuickStats
Continuing Education examination available at https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwr_continuingEducation.html
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
jurisdictions still require supporting clinical information, although probable case classification criteria have been updated to only include those patients with objective signs of infection. This report summarizes the first year of Lyme disease surveillance data collected using the 2022 case definition and compares these data to cases reported during 2017–2019.
Methods
Lyme disease cases are classified by state and local health departments according to CSTE surveillance case definitions and reported to CDC through the Nationally Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.§ Because of reporting anomalies related to the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2021) (8), cases reported in 2022 were compared with those reported during 2017–2019. 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data were used as popula- tion denominators for incidence calculations.¶ Several reporting dates were used to compare trends in seasonality. For the years 2017–2019, illness onset date was used, whereas for 2022, illness onset date, diagnosis date, laboratory test date, and date of labora- tory report to health department were used. Data were analyzed using SAS software (version 9.4; SAS Institute). This activity was
§ https://www.cdc.gov/nndss/index.html
¶ https://data.census.gov/table?q=Age+and+Sex&t=Populations+and+
People&g=010XX00US&d=DEC+Demographic+and+Housing+ Characteristics&tid=DECENNIALDHC2020.P12; https://data.census.gov/ table?g=010XX00US$0400000&tid=PEPPOP2019.PEPANNRES
reviewed by CDC, deemed not research, and was conducted consistent with applicable federal law and CDC policy.**
Results
Overall: 2022 Versus 2017–2019
After implementation of a revised Lyme disease case defini- tion, a total of 62,551 Lyme disease cases were reported to CDC in 2022 (including 59,734 from high-incidence juris- dictions and 2,817 from low-incidence jurisdictions).†† This finding represented an overall 68.5% increase from the annual average of 37,118 cases reported during 2017–2019, including a 72.9% increase in high-incidence jurisdictions and a 10.0% increase in low-incidence jurisdictions (Table). During 2022, 95.5% of reported cases were reported from high-incidence jurisdictions, compared with an average of 93.1% during 2017–2019. Lyme disease incidence in 2022 (18.9 cases per 100,000 population) was 68.8% higher than that during 2017–2019 (11.2). In 2022, median incidence among high- incidence jurisdictions (68.3 cases per 100,000) was 58% higher than that during 2017–2019 (43.3), although median incidence among low-incidence jurisdictions (0.52 cases per 100,000) was 24% lower than during 2017–2019 (0.68).
** 45 C.F.R. part 46.102(l)(2), 21 C.F.R. part 56; 42 U.S.C. Sect. 241(d); †† 5 U.S.C. Sect. 552a; 44 U.S.C. Sect. 3501 et seq.
2022 data from the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Interim data as of February 13, 2023, before finalization and publication by CDC’s Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
The MMWR series of publications is published by the Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, GA 30329-4027.
Suggested citation: [Author names; first three, then et al., if more than six.] [Report title]. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2024;73:[inclusive page numbers]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Charlotte K. Kent, PhD, MPH, Editor in Chief Rachel Gorwitz, MD, MPH, Acting Executive Editor Jacqueline Gindler, MD, Editor
Cynthia Ogden, PhD, MRP, Guest Science Editor Paul Z. Siegel, MD, MPH, Associate Editor Mary Dott, MD, MPH, Online Editor
Terisa F. Rutledge, Managing Editor
Teresa M. Hood, MS, Lead Technical Writer-Editor Glenn Damon, Jacqueline Farley, MS,
Tiana Garrett, PhD, MPH, Ashley Morici, Stacy Simon, MA, Morgan Thompson, Suzanne Webb, PhD, MA,
Technical Writer-Editors
Matthew L. Boulton, MD, MPH Carolyn Brooks, ScD, MA Virginia A. Caine, MD Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, MBA
MMWR Editorial and Production Staff (Weekly) Phyllis H. King,
Acting Lead Health Communication Specialist
Alexander J. Gottardy, Maureen A. Leahy, Stephen R. Spriggs, Armina Velarde, Tong Yang, Visual Information Specialists
Quang M. Doan, MBA,
Terraye M. Starr, Moua Yang, Information Technology Specialists
MMWR Editorial Board
Timothy F. Jones, MD, Chairman David W. Fleming, MD
William E. Halperin, MD, DrPH, MPH Jewel Mullen, MD, MPH, MPA
Jeff Niederdeppe, PhD
Patricia Quinlisk, MD, MPH
Symone Hairston, MPH,
Acting Lead Health Communication Specialist
Kiana Cohen, MPH, Leslie Hamlin, Lowery Johnson, Health Communication Specialists Dewin Jimenez, Will Yang, MA, Visual Information Specialists
Patrick L. Remington, MD, MPH Carlos Roig, MS, MA William Schaffner, MD Morgan Bobb Swanson, MD, PhD
Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH, Director
Debra Houry, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science Samuel F. Posner, PhD, Director, Office of Science
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US Department of Health and Human Services | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | MMWR | February 15, 2024 | Vol. 73 | No. 6
Sex and Age
Males accounted for the majority of cases during 2017–2019 (57.7%) and 2022 (57.3%). The age distribution was bimodal during both periods, but a larger percentage of reported cases occurred among adults in 2022 than did during 2017–2019 (Figure 1). Among persons aged 5–9 years, incidence during 2022 (16.5 cases per 100,000) was 11.5% higher than the 2017–2019 average (14.8). Among adults aged 75–79 years, incidence during 2022 (38.3) was 2.2 times the average during 2017–2019 (17.3) (Figure 1).
Illness Onset and Other Available Dates
Illness onset date was available for more than two thirds (67.8% [75,491 of 111,354]) of cases reported during 2017– 2019, but only 4.8% (2,987 of 62,551) of cases in 2022. Illness onset peaked during calendar week 26 during both 2017–2019 and 2022; however, in 2022, the diagnosis, laboratory test, and reporting dates peaked 2 weeks later (week 28) (Figure 2).
Discussion
After implementation of a revised surveillance case defini- tion in 2022, the number of reported Lyme disease cases in the United States increased 68.5% over the average reported during 2017–2019; in high-incidence jurisdictions, the number of cases increased 72.9%, whereas in low-incidence jurisdictions, the number of cases increased 10.0%. This change reflects a large increase in the number of cases reported from high-incidence jurisdictions on the basis of laboratory evidence alone. Before 2022, many of these cases would have been excluded, either because health departments were unable to obtain the necessary clinical information or because avail- able clinical data were inconsistent with the objective criteria specified in the case definition. The increases in incidence in 2022 compared with 2017–2019 are particularly large among high-incidence jurisdictions that had previously modified Lyme disease surveillance practice to minimize the case investigation workload. The total number of cases in many low-incidence jurisdictions decreased, presumably because of changes in the 2022 case definition requiring objective signs and symptoms
of Lyme disease for the probable case classification in these areas with lower disease risk.
The relative increase in Lyme disease incidence in 2022 was larger among older age groups, with age-specific incidences more than doubling among adults aged ≥65 years relative to those during 2017–2019. The differential increase in incidence might reflect 1) more frequent laboratory testing among older age groups, 2) proportionally more disseminated illness in older age groups, and 3) proportionally more positive labora- tory test results related to previous exposure to B. burgdorferi rather than a current illness.
Date of illness onset is rarely available in high-incidence jurisdictions given reliance on laboratory-based reporting without case investigation to ascertain clinical information. Alternative dates related to laboratory testing or reporting still demonstrate summer seasonality, but are shifted 2 weeks later, reflecting the expected time lag required after symptom onset to mount a detectable immune response to B. burgdorferi (1).
Limitations
The findings in this report are subject to at least two limita- tions. First, surveillance for Lyme disease is subject to under- and overreporting. Despite an increase in reported cases in 2022, it is likely that current surveillance does not capture all cases of Lyme disease, specifically cases of early disease for which diagnosis is based on clinical findings alone, including presence of erythema migrans rash, and laboratory evidence is lacking because of insufficient elapsed time to mount a detectable antibody response. Previous case definitions relied on direct clinician report to identify such cases; however, the frequency of such reporting was highly variable among high- incidence jurisdictions (6). Conversely, reporting based solely on serologic testing might result in the inclusion of clinically incompatible or nonincident cases (i.e., a positive laboratory test result based on previous infection). Antibody titers remain elevated for months to years after treatment for Lyme disease, and asymptomatic seroconversion is also known to occur (1). In these instances, testing for Lyme disease when another eti- ology is responsible for the current illness might generate an
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
TABLE. (Continued) Number of reported Lyme disease cases and Lyme disease incidence, by jurisdiction and incidence category* — United States, 2017–2019 and 2022
Abbreviation: NR = not reportable.
- High-incidence jurisdictions are defined as jurisdictions reporting 10 or more confirmed cases per 100,000 population for 3 years. All other jurisdictions are low incidence. † Lyme disease surveillance case definitions are available at https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/conditions/lyme-disease/. Case counts reflect the total number of cases
(confirmed and probable).
§ Incidence is defined as the number of cases per 100,000 population according to 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data. Subtotal incidence figures reflect median incidence
across jurisdictions in each incidence category.
¶ Cases and incidence during 2017–2019 reflect the 3-year annual average.
** Percent change in the number of cases reported during 2022 versus 2017–2019.
†† Incidence difference = (incidence in 2022 – 3-year average incidence during 2017–2019).
§§ Because of rounding of the average number of cases per jurisdiction, the total in the individual jurisdiction rows does not sum to the national 2017–2019 average.
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US Department of Health and Human Services | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | MMWR | February 15, 2024 | Vol. 73 | No. 6 Males 2017–2019
Males 2022
Females 2017–2019
Females 2022
Males
Females
Identical incidence between the two periods
Cases per 100,000 population
50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10
5
0
0
3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0
A. Incidence
Ratio of 2022 incidence to 2017–2019 incidence
B. Ratio of 2022 incidence to 2017–2019 incidence
5
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 5-year age group
0 5
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 5-year age group
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
FIGURE 1. Reported Lyme disease incidence (A) and the ratio of the 2022 incidence to the average 2017–2019 incidence (B), by sex and 5-year age group — United States, 2017–2019 and 2022
FIGURE 2. Week of illness onset or laboratory test and reporting date for reported Lyme disease cases* — United States, 2017–2019 and 2022
100 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 - Week 1 begins on the first Sunday of the calendar year.
erroneous case report. Second, changes in laboratory testing between the two analysis periods might have influenced Lyme disease incidence. The Food and Drug Administration cleared the first modified two-tier test (MTTT) serologic assays for
Illness onset 2017–2019 Illness onset 2022
Lab test and reporting 2022
Percentage of total
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 Week
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Lyme disease in 2019§§ (9). These assays have higher sensitivity in early illness than do standard algorithms and might have
§§ https://www.aphl.org/aboutAPHL/publications/Documents/ID-2021-Lyme- Disease-Serologic-Testing-Reporting.pdf Summary
What is already known about this topic?
Lyme disease is the most common vectorborne disease in the United States, but risk is geographically focal. After the imple- mentation of a revised surveillance case definition in 2022, high-incidence jurisdictions report cases based on laboratory evidence alone, without the need for case investigation to obtain clinical information.
What is added by this report?
In 2022, reported case counts were 1.7 times the annual U.S. average during 2017–2019. The relative change in incidence in 2022 increased with patient age.
What are the implications for public health practice?
Increase in Lyme disease cases in 2022 likely reflects changes in surveillance methods rather than change in disease risk. The case definition change improves standardization of surveillance across jurisdictions but precludes detailed comparison with historical data.
resulted in more persons with positive laboratory evidence of infection (10). In contrast, health departments anecdotally reported challenges in receiving or identifying MTTT assays within their systems because of lack of MTTT-specific Logical Observation and Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC), which might have resulted in underascertainment of persons with positive laboratory evidence in 2022.
Implications for Public Health Practice
The 69% increase in reported cases of Lyme disease after
implementation of the 2022 surveillance case definition, with
the largest relative increase occurring among older adults, likely
reflects modification of surveillance methods in high-incidence
jurisdictions rather than a true change in disease risk. Surveillance
in low-incidence jurisdictions still necessitates clinical inves-
tigation to ascertain probability of locally acquired infection
to accurately guide clinical and public education. The revised
approach to surveillance will improve standardization of sur-
veillance data across high-incidence jurisdictions but precludes
robust comparison of trends with data collected using earlier case
definitions. Specific LOINC codes were created and approved
¶¶
in early 2023. Use of standardized codes by commercial and
clinical laboratories is critical to ensuring consistent identifica- tion of persons with laboratory evidence of Lyme disease for surveillance purposes. Although the total number of reported cases is higher than in previous years, it still does not approach the estimated 476,000 Lyme disease diagnoses estimated to occur annually in the United States (2), a frequency that highlights the need for effective prevention methods.
Acknowledgments
Vectorborne disease surveillance coordinators in state and local health departments.
Corresponding author: Kiersten J. Kugeler, kkugeler@cdc.gov.
1Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC.
All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.
References
- Steere A. Lyme disease (Lyme borreliosis) due to Borrelia burgdorferi [Chapter 241]. In: Bennett JE, Dolin R, Blaser M, eds. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett’s principles and practice of infectious diseases. 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:2911–22.
- Mead P. Epidemiology of Lyme disease. Infect Dis Clin North Am 2022;36:495–521. PMID:36116831 https://doi.org/10.1016/j. idc.2022.03.004
- Schwartz AM, Hinckley AF, Mead PS, Hook SA, Kugeler KJ. Surveillance for Lyme disease—United States, 2008–2015. MMWR Surveill Summ 2017;66(No. SS-22):1–12. PMID:29120995 https://doi.org/10.15585/ mmwr.ss6622a1
- Lukacik G, White J, Noonan-Toly C, DiDonato C, Backenson PB. Lyme disease surveillance using sampling estimation: evaluation of an alternative methodology in New York State. Zoonoses Public Health 2018;65:260–5. PMID:26924579 https://doi.org/10.1111/zph.12261
- Rutz H, Hogan B, Hook S, Hinckley A, Feldman K. Exploring an alternative approach to Lyme disease surveillance in Maryland. Zoonoses Public Health 2018;65:254–9. PMID:29411541 https://doi. org/10.1111/zph.12446
- Kugeler KJ, Cervantes K, Brown CM, et al. Potential quantitative effect of a laboratory-based approach to Lyme disease surveillance in high- incidence states. Zoonoses Public Health 2022;69:451–7. PMID:35253377 https://doi.org/10.1111/zph.12933
- Cartter ML, Lynfield R, Feldman KA, Hook SA, Hinckley AF. Lyme disease surveillance in the United States: looking for ways to cut the Gordian knot. Zoonoses Public Health 2018;65:227–9. PMID:29431297 https://doi.org/10.1111/zph.12448
- McCormick DW, Kugeler KJ, Marx GE, et al. Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on reported Lyme disease, United States, 2020. Emerg Infect Dis 2021;27:2715–7. PMID:34545801 https://doi.org/10.3201/ eid2710.210903
- Mead P, Petersen J, Hinckley A. Updated CDC recommendation for serologic diagnosis of Lyme disease. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2019;68:703. PMID:31415492 https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr. mm6832a4
- Branda JA, Strle K, Nigrovic LE, et al. Evaluation of modified 2-tiered serodiagnostic testing algorithms for early Lyme disease. Clin Infect Dis 2017;64:1074–80. PMID:28329259 h ttps://doi.org/10.1093/cid/cix043
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
¶¶ https://loinc.org/
US Department of Health and Human Services | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | MMWR | February 15, 2024 | Vol. 73
These are ACTS OF CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY! And there are many who have suffered at the hands of these Garbage humans in our Government.
So yes I have been working through some of the worst symptoms of a Bio weapon. Yes, I’ve stood strong when told I had no idea what I was suffering with. Yes, I educated and shared my story of what I deal with, and Yes, I lost friends and family who just didn’t want to believe their government would do this.
They did it, and they are doing it again!
WWYHS 💕
The power of a mindful mind 
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