Lyme disease is a tick-borne bacterial infection caused by the spirochaete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, transmitted to humans by certain species of Ixodes ticks found widely in temperate regions of the Northern hemisphere [1][2][3]. Laboratory evidence of infection, mainly serology, is essential for diagnosis except in cases of typical erythema migrans [1].
Disease overview
BacterialLyme disease
莱姆病
Evidence-backed informationEN 5/7 applicable sections · ZH 5/7 applicable sectionsUpdated Sep 3, 2026
Lyme disease (borreliosis) is a tick-borne bacterial infection caused by spirochaetes of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species complex, transmitted by hard-backed Ixodes ticks [1][2]. It is the most common vector-borne illness in North America and Europe, with incidence increasing in many countries and distribution widening, particularly in temperate regions of the Northern hemisphere [1][2][3]. The disease typically presents in mid to late summer and is a multisystem condition, with skin involvement being most common, followed by neurological manifestations [1][2]. Prevention relies primarily on protecting against tick bites; no human vaccine is available [1].
Read the full clinical and epidemiological profile6
The most common clinical manifestation is erythema migrans, which can be single or multiple and vary from homogeneous erythema to bull's-eye patterns; it eventually resolves even without antibiotic treatment [1][4]. However, the pathogen can spread to other tissues and organs, causing more severe manifestations involving the skin, nervous system, joints, or heart [1][2]. Neurological involvement (neuroborreliosis) is the second most commonly affected system after skin; early dissemination may lead to neurologic and cardiac complications [2][4]. Monoarticular or oligoarticular arthritis may develop in untreated patients [4]. Other systemic manifestations such as carditis, keratitis, uveitis, and inflammatory arthritis rarely occur in European Lyme disease [2].
Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness in North America and Europe [1][3]. Incidence is increasing in many countries and distribution is widening, occurring most frequently in areas of woodland with temperate climates [2][3]. The risk of human infection is determined by the distribution and abundance of vector ticks, ecologic factors influencing tick infection rates, and human behaviors that promote tick bite [3]. In the northeastern United States where disease is most common, exposure occurs primarily in areas immediately around the home [3]. Rates of infection are highest among children aged 5 to 15 years and adults aged more than 50 years [3]. Clinical features are diverse but death is rare [3].
Lyme disease is transmitted to humans by hard-backed Ixodes ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato [1][2][3][4]. The range of the tick vector continues to expand [4]. Prevention is primarily accomplished by protecting against tick bites [1].
Prevention of Lyme disease is mainly accomplished by protecting against tick bites, and there is no vaccine available for human use [1].
- 1Stanek G et al. Lyme borreliosis. Lancet. 2012 Feb 4. PMID: 21903253. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60103-7.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21903253/
- 2Ross Russell AL et al. Lyme disease: diagnosis and management. Pract Neurol. 2018 Dec. PMID: 30282764. doi: 10.1136/practneurol-2018-001998.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30282764/
- 3Mead P et al. Epidemiology of Lyme Disease. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2022 Sep. PMID: 36116831. doi: 10.1016/j.idc.2022.03.004.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36116831/
- 4Smith RP et al. Lyme Disease. Ann Intern Med. 2025 May. PMID: 40354663. doi: 10.7326/ANNALS-25-01111.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40354663/
- 5Carriveau A et al. Lyme Disease. Nurs Clin North Am. 2019 Jun. PMID: 31027665. doi: 10.1016/j.cnur.2019.02.003.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31027665/
Coverage
Reporting countries and regions
Trends by reporting country
Monthly patterns over time
Research Radar
Recent related research
Rheumatological manifestations of Lyme disease and related tick-borne diseases in north America.
Current opinion in rheumatology
Impact of Immature Tick Activity Synchrony on Tick Population Dynamics, Borrelia burgdorferi Infection Prevalence, and Spatial Spread of Lyme Disease
International Journal of Biomathematics
Antibodies against tick-borne pathogens in domestic dogs in Norway: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, tick-borne encephalitis virus, and Anaplasma phagocytophilum.
Acta veterinaria Scandinavica
Protective Immunity and New Vaccines for Lyme Disease
Clinical Infectious Diseases
Literature links are provided for discovery and do not alter or validate the surveillance series above.
Data access
Page dataset index with source links and update metadata.
Official sourcesAuthority, cadence, notes34
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Belgium Annual Baseline
Belgium
Belgium annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Canada PHAC CNDSS Annual
Canada
Canada is the national jurisdiction; subdivision feeds are registered separately.
Public Health Ontario IDTO Monthly
Ontario, Canada
Ontario-level current-year preliminary monthly case counts from Public Health Ontario's IDTO report.
Switzerland FOPH IDD
Switzerland
Switzerland FOPH/BAG IDD mandatory reporting API normalized to national case rows. Monthly series may use the dashboard CHFL aggregate where CH-only monthly series are not exposed.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Cyprus Annual Baseline
Cyprus
Cyprus annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Czechia Annual Baseline
Czechia
Czechia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Denmark Annual Baseline
Denmark
Denmark annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Estonia Annual Baseline
Estonia
Estonia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Finland THL Infectious Diseases Register
Finland
Finland THL Infectious Diseases Register national monthly case counts. The current month is ingested as provisional and the latest three months are refreshed for source revisions.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — United Kingdom Annual Baseline
United Kingdom
United Kingdom annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Greece Annual Baseline
Greece
Greece annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Hungary Annual Baseline
Hungary
Hungary annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Ireland HPSC Notifiable Diseases Hub
Ireland
Ireland HPSC national weekly notifiable-disease totals from the official ArcGIS FeatureServer. Internal ingestion is enabled; public release remains disabled pending written redistribution permission.
Iceland Directorate of Health Annual Dashboard
Iceland
National annual case notifications by disease. Published values can be revised retrospectively and remain annual period totals.
Iceland Directorate of Health STI Dashboard
Iceland
Monthly STI diagnosis facts from laboratory and registry surveillance; the official dashboard is published on a quarterly schedule.
Iceland Directorate of Health Respiratory Dashboard
Iceland
ISO-week respiratory diagnosis counts. Hospitalizations, samples, and vaccination indicators are separate measures and are not counted as diagnoses.
Iceland Directorate of Health Historical Registry
Iceland
Historical official registry tables for 1997–2021, with annual totals and disease-specific monthly notification facts retained at source grain.
Iceland Directorate of Health Legacy ICD Monthly
Iceland
Historical Saga EHR ICD encounter counts for 1997–2020. This clinical measure is non-comparable with registry notifications and is kept separate.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Italy Annual Baseline
Italy
Italy annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
JP NIID Weekly
Japan
Japan weekly infectious disease surveillance via NIID/JIHS.
Korea KDCA EID
South Korea
Korea KDCA notifiable infectious disease OpenAPI or portal/KOSIS downloads aggregated to national monthly notification counts.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Lithuania Annual Baseline
Lithuania
Lithuania annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Luxembourg Annual Baseline
Luxembourg
Luxembourg annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Latvia Annual Baseline
Latvia
Latvia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Malta Annual Baseline
Malta
Malta annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Norway FHI MSIS Statistics Bank
Norway
Norway FHI MSIS national monthly notifications from the official Allvis frontend API; adapter contract checks guard the unversioned endpoint.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Poland Annual Baseline
Poland
Poland annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Portugal Annual Baseline
Portugal
Portugal annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Romania Annual Baseline
Romania
Romania annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Slovenia Annual Baseline
Slovenia
Slovenia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Slovakia Annual Baseline
Slovakia
Slovakia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Taiwan, China CDC NIDSS
Taiwan, China
Taiwan, China monthly notifiable infectious disease open-data CSV feed.
US CDC NNDSS
United States
CDC National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System provisional data.
US CDC NHSS HIV
United States
CDC NNDSS weekly data plus NHSS annual national HIV diagnoses