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. 2025 Jul;31(7):1421-1424.
doi: 10.3201/eid3107.250009.

Lyme Disease Testing Practices, Wisconsin, USA, 2016-2019

Kiersten J Kugeler, Erica Scotty, Austin Earley, Alison F Hinckley, Sarah A Hook, Courtney C Nawrocki, Alexandra M Linz, Jennifer Meece, Anna M Schotthoefer

Lyme Disease Testing Practices, Wisconsin, USA, 2016-2019

Kiersten J Kugeler et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2025 Jul.

Abstract

Positive laboratory results are increasingly used for Lyme disease surveillance in the United States. We found 6%-15% of persons with a positive test each year tested positive in a prior year; repeat testing frequency increased with patient age. Repeat testing of persons with previous seropositivity could affect surveillance data interpretation.

Keywords: Borrelia burgdorferi; Lyme disease; United States; Wisconsin; bacteria; laboratory testing; surveillance; vector-borne infections; zoonoses.

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Figures

Figure
Figure
Lyme disease serologic testing episodes and percentage positivity by patient age and sex, Wisconsin, USA, 2016–2019.
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