"Lyme Disease Far More Common Than Previously Known"

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 300,000 Americans are getting Lyme disease every year, and the toll is growing."

"'It confirms what we've thought for a long time: This is a large problem,' Dr. Paul Mead tells Shots. 'The bottom line is that by defining how big the problem is we make it easier for everyone to figure out what kind of resources we have to use to address it.'

Mead, who directs Lyme disease surveillance for the CDC, presented the new 'preliminary' estimate the at an international conference in Boston on Lyme and other tick-borne diseases."

Richard Knox reports for NPR's Shots blog August 19, 2013.