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The data and information presented in this web site are presented in good faith and believed to be accurate. Any and all liability for the content or any omissions including any inaccuracies, errors, or misstatements in such data or information is expressly disclaimed. The web site is compiled for the sole purpose of informing community members of resources and information pertaining to Lyme Borreliosis Disease and its coinfections.
The Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation, Directors and members are not liable for any direct or indirect damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortious action arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of information available from this website.
Consult a qualified Lyme ( Borreliosis ) Disease literate doctor for medical advice if Lyme Disease is suspect.
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Lyme Disease: A Public Health Crisis Ignored
More accurate tests for Lyme Disease are described in the medical
literature, but such tests aren't approved for wide public use.
By STEVEN E. PHILLIPS, M.D.
Published on 10/30/2005
A Florida State quarterback is found half-naked and disoriented in downtown
Tallahassee. Pop singer Daryl Hall cancels part of his national concert
tour. Author Amy Tan is writing a new book about it.
The picture is clear: Lyme disease has hit the front burner.
Lyme disease is a major public health problem and growing crisis. It's the
most prevalent bug-borne illness. According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention new cases are reported in about 20,000 people yearly
and this number represents a 10-fold underestimate.
Lyme disease is caused by a complex bacterial agent carried and spread by
ticks. The Lyme bacteria have the ability to evade immune destruction,
entrench themselves deep within tissues and migrate throughout the body with
impunity causing a multi-system illness that can be baffling to many
physicians.
The result is that one tiny tick bite can cause innumerable symptoms running
the gamut from muscle and joint pain to heart disease to neurological and
even psychiatric illness. Lyme patients may be misdiagnosed as having other
serious diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and
psychiatric disorders. The take-home message is Lyme disease may be hard to
diagnose and difficult, if not impossible, to fully eradicate if not caught
early.
Why is that?
. First, there is no single reliable diagnostic laboratory test. The common
two-tiered blood test cannot be solely relied upon for diagnosis. The
initial ELISA screening test can give up to 50 percent false negative
results, and just as disheartening, many laboratories interpret the second
Western Blot test by highly restrictive CDC criteria that miss many cases.
Better tests are described in the medical literature, but haven't seen the
light of day. So some patients seek more sophisticated testing by approved
reference laboratories - labs within a single state that get samples from
around the country - but which often don't take their insurance companies
and frequently pay for their tests out-of-pocket.
Furthermore, a person with "Lyme disease" may be co-infected with other
organisms and "co-infections" often require different antibiotic therapy
compared to Lyme.
. Second, there is no universally accepted treatment. During chronic
infection the organism burrows deep into tissues that some antibiotics can
reach only marginally. This is but one of many reasons why a two-to-four
week treatment cannot eliminate chronic infection.
The consensus opinion of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases
Society is that an individualized treatment approach is necessary based on
clinical judgment.
ILADS is a multi-specialty medical society comprised of virtually all
sub-specialists who treat Lyme disease, including infectious disease
specialists, neurologists, rheumatologists, psychiatrists, endocrinologists
and internal medicine physicians. We've published diagnostic and treatment
guidelines in peer reviewed infectious disease medical literature, which
stand in stark contrast to the guidelines of some infectious disease
specialists who reject voluminous medical data documenting persistent
infection and co-infection.
What should be done?
We, the clinical doctors who man the frontlines of treatment, extend an
olive branch to our colleagues with divergent opinions to work together to
develop practical diagnostic and treatment protocols.
We believe it is essential for patients with Lyme symptoms to be tested for
multiple tick-borne disorders. We know better tests exist and recommend the
entire medical community push for them.
We encourage the education of all medical personnel about the array of Lyme
symptoms and its related infections in order to increase the number of
health care providers who can recognize and treat these illnesses.
In the early days of the AIDS epidemic activists screamed for attention to
get medical care. We hope Lyme patients are not forced to follow the same
path, but we will not be content until Lyme disease is yesterday's news.
Dr. Steven E. Phillips is a practicing physician from Wilton and is
president of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS),
the only professional medical organization in the world devoted exclusively
to tick-borne illnesses. This piece represents the views of ILADS.
© 1998-2005 The Day Publishing Co.
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