This four-part series will aid front-line healthcare providers with recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of Lyme disease, an increasingly common tickborne illness. This training represents years of work conducted by the Bacterial Diseases Branch and is responsive to recommendations in the first two Tickborne Diseases Working Group reports to Congress.
The free online curriculum serves as a valuable resource for primary care clinicians, public health professionals, pharmacists, and health educators who encounter patients with Lyme disease. Free Continuing Education credits are available. To register, please go to CDC TRAIN.
Module 1: Introduction to Tickborne Diseases and Disease Prevention (WB4328)
- Lyme disease transmission
- Lyme disease geographic distribution
- Care of a patient presenting with a tick bite
- Appropriate use of post-exposure prophylaxis for Lyme disease following tick bite
- Patient education about tick bite prevention
Module 2: Lyme Disease Clinical Overview (WB4329)
- Early localized and disseminated manifestations
- Differentiating erythema migrans from other similar skin conditions
- Recognizing clinical presentations that might suggest tickborne disease co-infections
Module 3: Lyme Disease Testing and Diagnosis (WB4330)
- How to select validated tests
- Why there is currently no “test of cure”
- How pretest probability and disease stage inform whether to test for Lyme disease
- The significance of the seroconversion window period
- Why testing for Lyme disease may not be clinically helpful for patients with erythema migrans
Module 4: Lyme Disease Treatment and Management (WB4380)
- Treatment options for erythema migrans
- Clinical management of Lyme carditis
- Clinical management of Lyme arthritis
- Clinical management of neurologic Lyme disease
- Care of patients with persistent symptoms attributed to Lyme disease
Additional information about Lyme disease can be found at www.cdc.gov/Lyme. Please direct questions to [email protected].
