Posted March 11, 2013. Great article which explains all the controversy surrounding Lyme disease and the existence of long term Lyme disease. There are two camps, the IDSA (Infectious Diseases Society of America) and ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society). The latter camp believes that Lyme disease is real and can be long term, in other words, it needs to be treated for more than just a few weeks to be eradicated. In fact, Dr. Willy Burgdorfer after whom Borrelia burgdorferi, was named, is in the latter camp. During an interview in 2007, he said, “I am a believer in persistent infections because people suffering with Lyme disease, 10 or 15 or 20 years later, get sick again. Because it appears that this organism has the ability to be sequestered in tissues, and it is possible that it could reappear, bringing back the clinical manifestations it caused in the first place.” (This is true if Lyme disease is not treated properly and throughly! If treatment is stopped prematurely there is more of a likelihood of reappearance later. Don’t quit your meds too soon!) But the CDC and the IDSA deny that long term Lyme disease infection exists. This leaves many patients to suffer and be diagnosed falsely with all kinds of other illness such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Lou Gehrig’s disease, etc.
S0 it wasn’t until 2006 that Montana confirmed that there was a case of Lyme disease in its state. Prior to that time, the state said people were contracting it elsewhere. Hmm, I guess mice, deer, etc. respect state boundaries.
Compounding the issue is that the IDSA and the CDC both recommend a two-tiered blood test for Lyme disease. The first test for Lyme disease looks for antibodies the body produces to fight the infection. If that test returns positive, then a second test is performed called the Western blot test, which detects proteins on the bacteria’s surface.
The problem is that in the first weeks after infection, sometimes antibody tests are unreliable because the auto-immune system has not yet produced enough antibodies to be detectable. And, if the patient had been taking any antibiotics prior to the time of testing, that may interfere with the accuracy of the testing. Several studies have found that antibody tests for Lyme disease are correctly positive only about 65 percent of the time, and, without a positive antibody test, many doctors are reluctant to order the Western blot test, which, though more accurate, is expensive. There are up and coming tests however, read my other blog posts on the subject https://lymesymptoms.com/great-informative-comprehensive-article-about-lyme-and-lyme-symptoms/
So patients are left to suffer. For years.
It’s good that Montana finally realizes there is Lyme disease in Montana! Hopefully with this relatively new awareness and acknowledgment by the CDC, patients won’t be left to suffer. Tell your friends in Montana to be careful! Ticks are now crossing state lines!
Montana has Lyme disease and Lyme symptoms!
Lyme disease divides experts: Great Falls family’s journey with disease highlights struggle with controversial illness
