Lyme disease cases appear to have more than doubled in the US over the past 30 years. As with so many diseases, though, it can be hard to figure out how much of that increase is because doctors have become better at diagnosing it and patients have become more aware of its symptoms.
Lyme, the most commonly reported tick-borne disease, is named after a town in Connecticut where two women fought ferociously in the 1970s to have their ailments taken seriously by the medical establishment. Due to complex symptoms that can last years after a tick bite, Lyme continues to be an illness doctors can easily miss.
