Estimation of the burden of Lyme borreliosis in Austria using hospital discharge data.

OBJECTIVES

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common tick-borne disease in Europe. LB is not a mandatorily notifiable disease in Austria, resulting in limited epidemiological data. To address this gap, this study aimed to estimate and characterize the incidence of hospitalized LB in Austria from 2015 to 2023 and to extrapolate medically-attended LB by manifestation.

METHODS

LB cases were identified from the Austrian National Public Health Institute's hospital discharge database, based on ICD-10 codes. The data included patient demographics, reasons for hospitalization, length of stay, and unique patient identifiers. Estimates of medically-attended LB cases were obtained by extrapolating from Austrian and German hospital discharge data and published claims-based estimates in Germany.

RESULTS

The average incidence of hospitalized LB was 9.9/ 100,000 population per year (PPY). The incidence of hospitalized LB was highest in summer months, among children and older adults, and in the states of Carinthia and Burgenland. The medically-attended incidence was estimated to be 232.9/ 100,000 PPY.

CONCLUSIONS

These estimates provide healthcare decision-makers with valuable insights into the burden of LB and highlight the need to establish a surveillance system to reliably monitor future epidemiological trends of Lyme disease in Austria.