Systemic lupus erythematosus
The rate of SLE varies between countries, ethnicity, and sex, and changes over time. In the United States, one estimate of the rate of SLE is 53 per 100,000; other estimates range from 322,000 to over 1 million. In Northern Europe the rate is about 40 per 100,000 people. SLE occurs more frequently and with greater severity among those of non-European descent. That rate has been found to be as high as 159 per 100,000 among those of Afro-Caribbean descent. Childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus generally presents between the ages of 3 and 15 and is four times more common in girls.
Occupational exposure to Lyme disease
Occupational exposure to Lyme disease is exposure to Lyme disease on the job. It is a major health issue among outdoor workers. Lyme disease is the most commonly reported tick-borne disease in the United States. In 2010, more than 22,500 confirmed and 7,500 probable cases of Lyme disease were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Lyme disease is passed to humans by the bite of black-legged ticks (also known as deer ticks in the eastern United States) and western black-legged ticks infected with the bacterium "Borrelia burgdorferi". The Lyme disease bacterium normally lives in mice, squirrels, and other small mammals. Cat fleas and ticks can carry pathogenic organisms that infect a person with Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.