New Scientist: Chronic Lyme disease may be a misdiagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome

Re: Lyme disease: chronic illness is rare, say experts
This article is reporting on a briefing on Lyme disease held at the Science Media Centre. Unfortunately it undermines, without evidence, the recent Open BMJ report on rising incidence of Lyme disease in the UK (1) and key recommendations and information included in NICE Lyme disease guideline (2), RCGP Lyme disease toolkit (3) and PHE educational literature (4), including:

- the need for greater awareness of Lyme disease
- that infected ticks are found throughout the UK and Ireland
- that tests for Lyme disease have limitations. Both false-positive and false-negative results can occur
- not to rule out the possibility of Lyme disease in people with symptoms but no clear history of tick exposure.
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https://www.bmj.com/content/367/bmj.l5975/rapid-responses
 
That BBC journalism on the briefing looks to be down to the usual standard. It is odd that the headline puts the "actually chronic fatigue syndrome" in inverted commas as though it is a direct quote taken from the briefing. It seems to fail, in the body of the article, to give any full quotation, but instead paraphrases or gives a journalistic interpretation. The original briefing seems to have been slightly, though not much, more nuanced.

One gets the impression that the SMC does not understand that the issues it raises may contain levels of complexity unsuitable for sound-bite journalism.

It feels like Groundhog Day all over again. What was CFS invented for if not as a home for all those "spurious disease constructs", for which we must be forever indebted to Eisenberg?
 
Yes, test the tissue, not the blood. Bb has a tropism for tissue. It does not like blood. Many case studies over the years which demonstrate Bb in tissue - cardiac tissue, brain tissue, etc.

But still indirect methods prevail. One of the reasons is that many of these tissue samplings are post-mortem. Another is the interests of the $500 Mill Lyme testing market. Still another is the incidence of sero-negative Lyme. Small wonder we are not getting any where.
 
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Cork dad: Lyme disease has left me like a 90-year-old
By Chris Dunne
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https://www.echolive.ie/corklives/C...r-old-779b50f3-b5df-4e2b-b0ac-dbc1c87d9b75-ds

“A contact who had experience of Lyme disease told us about a blood test in Germany that tests for over 30 strains of Lymes,” says Alan.

“There is no reliable blood test available in Ireland. The lack of awareness of Lyme disease, not just by the general public, but also GPs, is frightening.”

The blood tests came back positive. Now the couple knew for sure the animal they were dealing with.”
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I don't think they do know for sure what they were dealing with.

I've heard people when discussing lab testing for Lyme and the like say that there are no false positives only false negatives.
 
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