14 Facts About Lyme Disease

ILADS recently published these statistics and facts about Lyme disease:

1)      According to the CDC, LYME DISEASE is the fastest growing vector-borne infectious disease in the USA.  

2)      The number of cases reported annually has increased 25 times since national surveillance began in 1982

3)      There are 5 subspecies of BORRELIA BURGDORFERI; over 100 strains in the USA, and 300 strains worldwide.

This diversity is thought to contribute to its ability to evade the immune system and antibiotic therapy, leading to chronic infection. It could also be why the tests for Lyme disease are so unreliable.

4)      CDC reports: Lyme disease infects 300,000 people in the USA per year. This is 10 times more Americans than previously reported.

This new preliminary estimate confirms that Lyme disease is a tremendous public health problem in the United States,” says Dr. Paul Mead, chief of epidemiology and surveillance for CDC’s Lyme disease program.

5)      NEW LYME DISEASE CASES IN USA (CDC ESTIMATE)

Cases per month: 25,000
Cases per week: 5,770
Cases per day: 822
Cases per hour: 34

6)      There are no accurate tests available to indicate that the patient is cured or if the organism has been eradicated from the body

7)      Fewer than 50% of patients with Lyme disease recall a tick bite

8)      Fewer than 50% of patients recall any rash

9)      The ELISA SCREENING TEST is unreliable.

The common Elisa test you receive at your doctor's office misses 35% of culture proven Lyme disease. Some studies indicate up to 50% of the patients tested for Lyme disease receive false negative results.

10)   Up to 50% of  TICKS in Lyme endemic areas are infected

11)   The onset of Lyme disease symptoms can be easily mistaken for other illnesses. Once symptoms are more evident the disease may have already entered the central nervous system, and could be hard to cure.

12)   About 40% of LYME PATIENTS end up with long term health problems

13)   The average patient sees 5 doctors over nearly 2 years before being diagnosed

14)   SHORT TREATMENT COURSES  have resulted in  upwards of a 40% RELAPSE RATE, especially if treatment is delayed

There has never been a study demonstrating that 30 days of antibiotic treatment cures chronic Lyme disease. However there is much documentation demonstrating that short courses of antibiotic treatment fail to eradicate the spirochete which causes Lyme disease.

To find out more about the controversies surrounding Lyme disease CLICK HERE