Chronic Lyme disease
Chronic Lyme disease is a multi-system illness with a wide range of symptoms and/or signs that are either consistently or intermittently present for at least six months. The illness is the result of an `ongoing infection by any of several members of the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. Chronic Lyme disease has two subcategories – untreated chronic Lyme disease and that present in the setting of one or more courses of treatment.
The “PERFECT STORM”
- Often common clinical features: eg fatigue, joint pain, etc.
- Tick bites frequently go unrecognized
- Hallmark EM rash, is frequently absent or misidentified
- Expanding tick exposure risk
- Leading to increased incidence
- Confounding features of “co-infections”
- Poor sensitivity of diagnostics
- Politically charged dogma often minimizing the real potential for this diagnosis