CDC and NIH Programs Continue to Broaden Understanding of Lyme Disease

CDC and NIH have conducted a broad range of research and educational activities related to Lyme disease. NIH has funded research on the basic nature of Lyme disease and on its diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, and initiated most related expert and congressional recommendations. CDC’s laboratories have conducted basic research on diagnostic test development. To educate the medical and patient communities, CDC   has funded activities by professional groups and associations to develop diagnosis and treatment recommendations for both physicians and nurses;   maintains an informational Web site for patients and health professionals and provides the public with educational materials;   has provided training and funds to state and local health departments to improve surveillance and educational activities, including sponsoring conferences and workgroup meetings in 1993, 1994, 1998, and 1999 to update the Lyme disease community and help guide the future of CDC Lyme disease programs; and   has disseminated the results of its Lyme disease research in hundreds of articles in peer-reviewed journals. Funding for Lyme Disease Has Increased Slightly at CDC and Significantly at NIH

Funding related to Lyme disease has increased at both CDC and NIH from fiscal years 1991 through 2000. The CDC increase in allocations was about 7 percent during that period, from $6.9 million to $7.4 million in inflation- adjusted dollars. In contrast, the NIH increase in obligations has been steady and relatively large, at 99 percent. Appendix IV: Recommendations Made to CDC and NIH Lyme Disease Programs

The following tables provide expert recommendations and congressional appropriations committees’ recommendations made to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Lyme disease programs.
What GAO Found

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have conducted an increasingly broad range of research and educational activities related to Lyme disease. CDC has instituted a system for the surveillance of Lyme disease, helped to standardize diagnostic testing, conducted and funded basic research on Lyme disease and on its prevention, and developed patient and practitioner educational materials. CDC has initiated most activities recommended by external reviewers and congressional appropriations committees regarding changes to its programs. NIH has conducted and funded basic research on Lyme disease and on its etiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. In addition, NIH research is addressing two topics of particular interest to patient advocates--chronic Lyme disease and the occurrence of other tick-borne infections in Lyme disease patients. NIH has also responded to most expert recommendations and congressional recommendations. During the last 10 years, allocations for Lyme disease have increased slightly at CDC, and obligations for Lyme disease have increased significantly at NIH. CDC allocations for Lyme disease research and education have increased seven percent, from $6.9 million to $7.4 million in inflation-adjusted dollars from fiscal years 1991 through 2000. In contrast, the NIH increase in obligations for Lyme disease has been steady and relatively large, at 99 percent.