Lyme Disease Support Group

Lyme disease or Lyme borreliosis is the most common vector-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere. Named after the town of Lyme, Connecticut, it is now one of the fastest growing infectious diseases in the U.S. Lyme disease is caused by infection with the spirochetal bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, and is primarily transmitted to humans as well as dogs, horses and other domesticated animals by the bite of infected ticks. The causative agent B. burgdorferi was first identified in 1982 by Willy Burgdorfer, a tick-borne disease expert at Rocky Mountain Labs in Hamilton, Montana. The disease varies widely in its presentation, which may include a rash, flu-like symptoms, neurologic, arthritic and/or cardiac manifestations. Early detection and prompt antibiotic treatment usually result in an excellent prognosis, though some patients remain symptomatic. Delayed or inadequate treatment may lead to a chronic illness that is disabling and difficult to treat. Amid great controversy over diagnosis, testing and treatment, two different standards of care for Lyme disease have emerged.

Lyme disease has many signs and symptoms, but skin signs, arthritis and/or various neurological symptoms are often present. Like syphilis, the symptoms frequently seem to resolve, yet the disease progresses. Conventional therapy is with antibiotics. People who suspect they have been exposed to Lyme disease should consult a doctor with knowledge of the disease immediately.

Lyme disease is sometimes misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), or other (mainly autoimmune and neurological) diseases, which leaves the infection untreated and allows it to further penetrate the organism. Many of these conditions may also be misdiagnosed as Lyme disease, e.g. due to false-positive Lyme serology. However it should be noted that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is by definition a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning it would be inaccurate to say that a patient does not have Lyme because he or she has CFS. The substantial overlap in symptomatology between Lyme and CFS makes this a crucial point.