Lyme: Pittsburgh’s Growing Epidemic
by KELLY CASEY

In 2017, Pennsylvania reported the nation’s highest number of confirmed Lyme cases at 9,250, plus another 2,650 probable cases. Lyme takes its biggest toll on the young and middle-aged adults because they’re most likely to be outdoors. More than 1,500 children each year are treated for Lyme at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, according to Dr. Andrew Nowalk. “Lyme is a very, very large load of patients that we’re taking care of. It’s been exponentially growing. There’s not a year since 2002 that we haven’t seen an increase in the number of cases and an increase in the severity of symptoms.”