Are the current notification criteria for Lyme borreliosis in Norway suitable? Results of an evaluation of Lyme borreliosis surveillance in Norway, 1995-2013

Authors

Emily MacDonald, Didrik Frimann Vestrheim, Richard White, Kirstin Konsmo, Heidi Lange, Audun Aase, Karin Nygård, Paweł Stefanoff, Ingeborg Aaberge, Line Vold.

Reference

Are the current notification criteria for Lyme borreliosis in Norway suitable? Results of an evaluation of Lyme borreliosis surveillance in Norway, 1995-2013. BMC Public Health 2016; 16: 729.

The article evaluates the effectiveness of Norway’s current notification criteria for Lyme borreliosis (LB), a tick-borne disease, by analyzing data from 1995 to 2013. The study found inconsistencies in how clinicians and laboratories report LB cases, suggesting that the criteria may be unclear or not consistently followed. We recommended revising the notification criteria to improve clarity and accuracy, potentially by focusing on more specific cases like neuroborreliosis or including early symptoms like erythema migrans to better reflect the true burden of the disease.

The investigation was done by Emily, a fellow of the training programme EPIET based in Norway. I was involved with the preparation of the protocol and with the preparation of the manuscript.