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