Full Committee Field Hearing - Lyme Disease: A Comprehensive Approach to an Evolving Threat
US SENATE HEARING here
Amiram Katz, MD – Written Testimony
Lyme disease is a continued and escalating public health issue.
A major problem in assessing the magnitude of this serious public health issue is the undiagnosed cases.
The Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Lyme disease (AKA: post treatment Lyme disease)
It is clear that more accurate tests are needed and more so, a test that will tell us if the infection is active.
What are the possible explanations of developing “chronic” Lyme disease?
Persistent Lyme infection. In spite of the IDSA’s treatment recommendations stating that two weeks (range 10 – 21 days) of oral antibiotics (doxycycline, amoxicillin, or cefuroxime), are sufficient to treat Lyme disease diagnosed by ECM (Bull‘s eye) rash, there is culture supported data, suggesting otherwise
Persistent presence of non infective Lyme spirochetes after adequate antibiotic treatment leading to an ongoing disease.
Persistent/ untreated infection of other tick borne agents, transmitted by the same ticks (“co-infections”)
Re infection. Living in a Lyme endemic area, where about 50% of the tick bites go undetected, unnoticed re-infection can result in a “chronic” picture. This includes the “co-infections”.
Treatment
When facing “chronic” Lyme, with an autoimmune flavor, one should consider treatment with a combination of hydroxy chloroquine and a macrolide.
Hi, I've just stumbled across your blog and wanted to say I think it's fantastic. You have so much great information and news sources on here, it does a great job of spreading Lyme info. I'm writing a blog about my Lyme experience although it's a much more personal account (and currently kind of deviating from Lyme and delving into a current injury!) and not as informative but I still hope it helps spread a little bit of awareness. I look forward to reading your blog regularly now that I've found it
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Hi How nice to meet another blogger on Lyme disease who lives in the UK.
DeleteI just had a brief look at your blog and like so many of us it is quite a story makes you wonder how so many with such similar stories can be so ignored and marginalised by our Health Authorities especially as many of respond well to long term antibiotics even if there are relapses along the way as with all Borrelia.
A couple or good articles in The Scotsman and another paper recently but we need so much more publicity.
I definitely agree about the publicity. I've seen a few articles about Mel Clarke over the last couple of weeks and hope that's done a good job of raising some awareness. What an incredible story she has as well - you are right, there are so many similar stories, and I'm sure so many more that are not in the public domain. I guess we can just keep plodding on and sharing as much information as we can :-)
ReplyDeleteYes as you say we keep plodding on and here and there a little awareness alerts another poor soul.
DeleteOne day when the blinders come off won't all these doctors look such fools they won't be able to pretend that ignorance is their defense when there is so much good evidence to show that Lyme is a relapsing disease and capable of persisting even with courses of antibiotics and a healthy immune system, in some patients.