Overview
- HHS announced Monday an expanded federal campaign that highlights multi‑million dollar investments in AI tools, public release of two improved FDA‑cleared Lyme diagnostics developed with LymeX, and outreach measures to boost diagnosis and research.
- The department is urging patients to submit treatment histories to Cure ID and is publishing a clinician locator so people can find doctors experienced with tick‑borne illnesses by ZIP code.
- HHS said the AI funding is meant to enable earlier detection, speed research into causes and treatments, and provide tools clinicians can use to reduce misdiagnosis and diagnostic delays.
- The effort builds on prior steps from earlier this year, including a CDC tick‑control pilot, up to $2.5 million in LymeX challenge awards, and a departmental goal to cut Lyme cases 25% by 2035 versus 2022.
- Public health context for the push includes CDC estimates of about 476,000 Americans diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year and HHS reporting that up to roughly 20% of treated patients may develop persistent post‑infection conditions.