20
Reasons Why Lyme Disease Is
Undiagnosed-Summary
Miguel
Perez-Lizano, June 2010
NEW:
Geographic Distribution of Ticks in the United States - CDC Maps 2012
http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/geographic_distribution.html
Note to Reader;
Lyme disease may well be the most underdiagnosed medical condition in
the United States. Some reasons for this are given below. Many are
related to monetary considerations. Supporting detail for these reasons
is given in the full version of this document. Link
to full version URL
Extremely
poor “screening”
test
The
ELISA screening test recommended by the CDC is, at best, poor, failing
to detect 50% or more of Lyme disease cases even under optimal
conditions. Strain variations complicate testing. The unsatisfactory
state of Lyme disease testing prompted a U.S Senate directive
in
Public Law 107-116 signed in 2002. “The Committee recognizes
that
the current state of laboratory testing for Lyme disease is very poor."
The CDC and FDA were instructed to develop accurate tests.
No
standard presentation of
Lyme disease
Lyme
disease can present in a variety of ways. The
result is
that it
can be misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia, MS, Parkinson’s, CFS,
Lou
Gehrig’s, arthritis, cardiac problems, Alzheimer’s, ADD, vision and
hearing problems, and other conditions, including psychiatric disorders.
Highly
restrictive CDC
surveillance criteria
For
surveillance purposes, the CDC has issued
serodiagnostic
criteria
to include only “certain” cases of Lyme disease. Perhaps fewer than 5%
or 10% of proven Lyme disease cases can meet these criteria.
Laboratories are forced to report results as “positive” or “negative”
depending on whether they meet the CDC surveillance case definition.
Uninformed doctors mistake the CDC case definition as diagnostic
criteria.
Misleading
implications of
low “reported” cases
In
addition to CDC surveillance criteria causing
very
low
numbers of
reported cases, most state health agencies are not well informed and
may not report Lyme disease for various reasons, including the disease
may have been acquired elsewhere. Most doctors mistakenly interpret low
or no reported figures to mean Lyme disease in their state is rare or
absent.
Lack
of
reliable tick and
tick borne disease studies
Tick
studies outside of recognized endemic areas
are
few and
tend to be
outdated or badly executed. Hence, tick borne diseases tend to be
ignored in areas not recognized to be endemic.
The
Infectious Diseases
Society of America (IDSA)
The
IDSA Lyme guidelines are issued by a few
individuals who
have
blatant conflicts of interest and present flawed and biased
information. These guidelines, the subject of an antitrust
investigation, are used by most doctors because they are heavily
publicized. The IDSA, with CDC backing, is the entity most responsible
for the unhealthy state of affairs in Lyme disease.
The
Centers for Disease
Control
Employees
at the CDC have their own conflicts of
interest
regarding
Lyme disease. Mostly, these have to do with financial interests in
tests and vaccines. The IDSA appears to be a dominant influence on the
CDC which promotes the IDSA Lyme disease guidelines. Some IDSA Lyme
guideline authors are former employees of the CDC or advisors to the
CDC. Conversely, some CDC employees are advisors to IDSA.
Potential
expense to HMO’s
and insurers
The
IDSA/CDC limited definition of Lyme disease,
restrictive
serodiagnostic criteria, limited treatment approach, and
denial
that Lyme disease can be a chronic infection are embraced by HMO’s and
medical insurers to minimize risk of potential expenses.
Medical
conformance
enforcement and licensure threats
There
are numerous cases of harassment against
physicians
who treat
Lyme disease outside of IDSA guidelines. Many IDSA authors have
testified against these physicians. Some states have adopted
legislation to prevent this abuse. Many doctors will not help Lyme
disease victims.
The
media’s role in
promoting public and medical ignorance
Rarely
do the media question the CDC/IDSA Lyme
disease
information.
They simply parrot and disseminate this information to the unsuspecting
consumer, including doctors.
Pharmaceutical
windfalls
Symptomatic
treatment of undiagnosed Lyme disease
is a
financial bonanza for drug companies.
The
research racket
Research
funding for Lyme disease has been
concentrated to a
favored
few mainly connected with IDSA. One result is that the research has
been biased.
Test
and vaccine
patents
The
number of patents related to Lyme disease has
dwarfed
those of
diseases that Lyme disease can mimic, such as MS or Parkinson’s
disease. Lack of significant scientific progress in Lyme disease may be
partially explained by the protection of monetary turf by these patent
holders.
Medical
testing laboratories
The
IDSA/CDC two-tier test approach, a positive
ELISA
followed by
Western Blots, is a financial windfall to testing laboratories and test
patent holders but a detriment to diagnosis.
Potential
impact on disease
charities
Disease
charities built around diseases that can
be
misdiagnosed Lyme
disease amount to many hundreds of millions of dollars. If a
substantial number of these diseases were found to be misdiagnosed Lyme
disease, revenues for these specialized charities would likely suffer.
Potential
impact on
specialty diseases doctors
The
impact would be the same as for disease
charities
on the
income of these specialized doctors.
Potential
impact on
disability payments
Appropriate
recognition of the prevalence and
disabling
aspects of Lyme
disease could place a large burden on disability payments.
Potential
impact on tourism
and real estate prices
Tourism
agencies and real estate professionals
prefer
to
minimize the prevalence of Lyme disease.
Potential
employer
liabilities
Employers
prefer that Lyme disease not be
recognized
either
as a
geographic threat or a serious health threat. This is particularly true
for those who employ outdoor workers.
Biowarfare
aspects
Some
knowledgeable observers have suggested that
biowarfare
is an
important contributor to the poor state of affairs in Lyme disease,
including the lack of quick and reliable diagnostic methods and lack of
a cure. There is no doubt that Lyme disease is being studied for
biowarfare.
kaiserpapers.com/lyme
KaiserPapers.org
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