Lyme 101

 WHAT IS LYME DISEASE ANYWAY? 



§ Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Borrelia Burgdorferi.  It is transmitted by the bite of a tick, and is prevalent in many parts of the world, including Canada and the USA.
      Ticks also carry other diseases called co-infections...some of which include Babesia, Bartonella and Ehrlichiosis.

§ The Lyme spirochete can cause infection in multiple organs and produce a wide range of symptoms. 

§ Fewer than 50% of patients with Lyme disease recall a tick bite, or get the classic Bull’s Eye rash associated with tick bites, and so often don’t even know they have been bitten and are at risk of developing Lyme disease.





tick burrowing in skin



§ At least three species of Lyme disease-carrying ticks have been found across Canada, including Alberta, B.C. and Ontario. However, there seems to be the belief that ticks carrying Lyme disease are so rare that it is not even worth considering, even when a person is ill with symptoms consistent with the disease.

Diagnosis Of Lyme Disease

§ Lyme disease can be extremely difficult to detect using current diagnostic tests used in Canada. It is rarely even thought of as a possible diagnosis to consider. (Several times when inquiring about the possibility of Riley’s symptoms being Lyme disease we heard, “Oh no, there’s no Lyme disease here.”)

§ If doctors do decide to investigate the possibility of Lyme, a two-tiered screening process is the protocol.  First, the ELISA test is the mandated preliminary test used to screen for the presence of Lyme bacteria. The ELISA, however, is known to produce a high percentage of false negative results (many doctors don’t know this/or are told otherwise). 

§ Only a positive result from the ELISA permits the doctor to then order the second, more reliable Western Blot test.  However, because the majority of ELISA tests miss the presence of Lyme bacteria, many patients never receive the Western Blot, remain undiagnosed (or misdiagnosed) and go on to develop the more chronic and debilitating forms of the disease. The bacteria are difficult to test for as they appear to evade the body's immune system, and are capable of changing into two, three or more shapes as they spread throughout the body.  Contrary to what doctors actually do…Lyme disease is meant to be diagnosed using information regarding a patient’s possible exposure to ticks, clinical symptoms and history as well but not exclusively, the results of the diagnostic tests.

§ Another problem with diagnosis is the fact that Lyme disease is known as the “Great Imitator”.  Once it takes hold, symptoms manifest in multiple areas of the body, and can mimic other diseases such as Crohn’s, Lupus, Arthritis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, M.S., and others.  While all these other diseases are being investigated….and the possibility of Lyme is ignored, the disease has time to wreak havoc and become well-entrenched in every system of the body, resulting in a disease state much more difficult to treat.

Controversial Lyme Disease Treatment…Why Such A Problem?

§ In addition to inadequate diagnostic/testing protocols, there is also much controversy regarding treatment for Lyme disease. At the centre of this are two sets of evidence-based Lyme disease practice guidelines—one published by the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), and the other by the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS).

§ Nearly all researchers and clinicians agree on one thing: Early detection and treatment of Lyme disease results in a very high cure rate. Most also agree that the illness can cause serious chronic problems in some patients, especially if the disease goes untreated in its early stages. That, however, is where agreement gives way to bitter contention in the medical community.

§ ILADS doctors suggest that the conventional IDSA-recommended Lyme treatment, which is a single course of antibiotics administered for 30 days, is a flawed treatment in that it ignores the complexity of the Borrelia Burgdorferi bacterium, and fails to successfully treat Lyme disease, and the often accompanying co-infections.  If more patients received early diagnosis and treatment, then yes, the disease could be successfully treated with a short course of antibiotics.  The sad truth, however, is that most patients are like Riley and go for months (and in some cases years) before they are diagnosed, at which point treatment is much more difficult.  A 30-day course of treatment is totally inadequate to eradicate the high bacterial load in the body.

§ IDSA is adamantly against the use of long-term antibiotics in treating later stage, chronic Lyme disease.  There are many viable arguments against long-term use of antibiotics; however, other serious diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy, malaria and even acne require long-term antibiotics, and here there is no controversy. One must weigh the possible benefits vs. the risks.  The medical community in Canada strictly adheres to the IDSA protocol and any doctors who have stepped out of these boundaries to follow a broader view and treat Lyme disease more aggressively-have in some cases been investigated and disciplined.

 § Also at the crux of the controversy, is a question about the on-going symptoms of chronic Lyme. Do they indicate persisting infection or merely persisting symptoms fueled by a lingering auto-immune response triggered by the disease? Persisting symptoms would be less of an issue if doctors took seriously the presentation of early symptoms of Lyme and treated appropriately. If this had happened with Riley, he would not be suffering the debilitating effects of later-stage Lyme disease.