Why is the CDC Trying to Block an Accurate Lyme Disease Test?
Posted on January 16, 2014
By Bob Goodwin, an investor and medical device entrepreneur who lives in Mercer Island, Washington
A recent article in Medscape is titled New Lyme Culture Test Failed CDC Analysis. At first I took the article and paper at face value, and tried to dig into the errors of a chronic-Lyme disease researcher. The only errors I could discover were by the CDC, and they seem blatant. In the same article about the CDC paper was the explanation that they did not want tests that might lead to unnecessary antibiotic treatment. While it is understandable that the CDC would not want a bad test, why would they block a good test? Because it will cause people to get treated? The CDC is on record taking the position of the Infectious Disease Society of America on treatment of Lyme disease, but it seems odd for the CDC to be taking a position to kill this test, especially considering that two different university hospitals are currently doing independent reviews of the same test.
I wrote here last week that I was getting blocked on Wikipedia from providing details about the Lyme Wars because Wikipedia only wanted to present the mainstream view.
The two camps in the war have only one scientific disagreement that I can detect. The mainstream medicine’s view is that the Lyme bacteria is non-persistent if treated with a few weeks of antibiotics, and even if untreated, the infection should be considered cleared when the immune system is no longer fighting the bacteria. People can still be sick later, but this sickness is likely due an auto-immune reaction. The minority position is that the bacteria hides and burrows, changes forms and builds biofilm colonies that both make the bacteria resistant to antibiotics, but also invisible to the immune system.
For 20 years there has been no meaningful change …
My husband and I were vacationing in the beautiful Redwoods of Northern California a year ago this winter. I, unfortunately, was infected by a deer tick. The tell tale symptom a bullseye rash above my left ankle. We shortened our trip back to Canada a month early in order to get treated as soon as possible. To this day I have not gotten the help that I need. The blood tests always come back negative while my symtoms are rampant. In order to have relief I am using Natural pathic antibiotics in order to keep up my immune system.
I visited a specialist four days ago and the suggestion was to use antidepresents. If this note helps the cause I would be so grateful.
Hi Ida,
You must get tested in the States because Canada doesn’t test for all the strains of it. You should get tested immediately as your symptoms will not go away but might worsen or mimic other diseases. The CanLyme website has contact information. The sooner you get on antibiotics the better. I do not have Lyme but my friend has suffered for years because she was not diagnosed properly.