IDSA Paul Auwaerter Written Comments & Rebuttal- May 15, 2018
May 15, 2018
Translating and summarizing for patients, John Hopkins own Paul Auwaerter's (IDSA President) most recent written comments to the Federal TBD Working Group.
Translation in bold font- actual quotes in regular font.
1. Auwaerter is busting at the seams with ego and is saying in part… I am King and what I say is the Rule of the Land. And I have LOTS of friends who agree with me! Our IDSA membership numbers rose recently due to our latest IDSA recruitment slogan... "Come to the dark side- we have cookies!" So nanny nanny poo poo.
QUOTE- "IDSA is the largest infectious diseases medical society in the United States, representing more than 11,000 physicians and scientists.” [I can’t remember ever reading anything the IDSA has written and sent to officials about Lyme and TBD’s that doesn’t brag about how many people have been duped into joining their organization.]
2. Auwaerter insists the surveillance definition for Lyme should be the same as the clinical definition (i.e. VERY limited so most cases will go uncounted and most people go undiagnosed and untreated).
QUOTE- "While the IDSA acknowledges that the CDC case definition for Lyme disease is intended for use as an epidemiological tool, it is incorrect to promulgate somehow the notion that the components of the surveillance definitions should not be used for clinical diagnosis.
To further popularize such a statement would confuse clinicians from understanding that the clinical diagnosis of Lyme disease rests on the foundations of either objective clinical findings and/or laboratory testing.”
3. Auwaerter is not willing to consider any other view points, including ILADS or any other independent science. He wants complete control of the “educational literature” so no one reading it will have a clue what the past 30 years of scientific evidence has really shown and/or proving that all this time he has been wrong.
QUOTE- "It is essential that all educational materials include only evidence-based information and do not promote over-diagnosis or misdiagnosis of Lyme disease or unsafe or ineffective treatments, including long-term antibiotic use."
4. Opposes anything other than his own rhetoric, including what independent researchers, ILADS, Lyme organizations, Lyme advocates and Lyme patients may propose for consideration.
QUOTE- "We oppose policies that would subject patients to faulty diagnostic procedures or dangerous or unproven treatments.”
5. Auwaerter wants anyone treating outside the IDSA guidelines to suffer the consequences.
QUOTE- "We also oppose recommendations or laws designed to protect clinicians who provide harmful treatments.” [“harmful meaning anything other than what he is promoting by way of his own personal opinion]
6. Auwaerter wants no other view points represented in the reports except for the IDSA/CDC's failed, conflicted and ancient controversial guidelines.
QUOTE- "In addition, we oppose any attempts by the working group to undermine widely accepted medical guidelines for the treatment of Lyme disease that are rooted in scientific evidence or to promote clinical guidelines that are lacking in evidence-basis.”
"Clinical education on the diagnosis and treatment of tick-borne diseases must continue to rely upon robust scientific evidence and should not attempt to undermine medically appropriate diagnostic practices."
7. Auwaerter wants to continue to have full control of federal money for research not only for Lyme disease, but all other diseases as well.
QUOTE- "While IDSA supports increased federal funding for research on tick-borne diseases, this funding cannot come at the expense of funding for other diseases, including HIV."
8. Hard-headed, ignorant little puke. (<< This is why I didn’t volunteer for the working group. This sort of stuff just slips out.) Auwaerter STILL wants everyone ignoring Bartonella totally and he criticizes the working group for paying it any mind.
QUOTE- "While ticks feed on animals infected with Bartonella there is no convincing evidence that it is a tick-transmitted human pathogen. The working group appears to highlight Bartonella as a known tick pathogen for humans while this is not the case."
9. Auwaerter feels all is well in Lyme Land and we don’t need to waste any more money on studies to determine best antibiotic treatment for sick Lyme patients.
QUOTE- "Conversely, there is not a pressing need for additional federally supported research on antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease."
10. Auwaerter feels the IDSA short-term antibiotic treatment protocols work just fine, the spirochetes are all killed and there is no proof otherwise.
QUOTE- "There is clear, widely accepted scientific evidence indicating that a 10-28 day course of antibiotics, depending on the stage of Lyme disease, will kill the Lyme disease bacterium in humans. Despite multiple clinical trials on this subject, there is no robust scientific evidence supporting the use of long-term antibiotic therapy in patients with Lyme disease that gains them sustained benefit either as initial therapy or prolonged treatment for long-term symptoms.”
"We also support the conclusion that the efficacy of antimicrobials for treatment of acute Lyme disease in well-defined patient populations is well documented, and add that additional long-term antibiotic treatments have not demonstrated any clinical benefits."
11. There should be NO mention of persistence of Lyme in the reports and the status quo should remain intact.
QUOTE- "Persistence of Borrelelia burgdorferi in humans should not be acknowledged as recommended in the subcommittee report while the facts are not supportive of this view."
"While IDSA continues to call for more research to improve diagnostic tools for Lyme disease, it is essential that clinical education is rooted in the best currently available evidence. Medical opinions that lack the foundation of rigorous scientific evidence should not be held in equal regard in the working group’s recommendations, and doing so would be greatly detrimental to patients and public health."
12. Forget the sick patients! Auwaerter has invested in vaccines, vaccines, vaccines and he wants to get them to the market immediately!
QUOTE- "IDSA also believes further research into vaccines that target the disease reservoir and vector would be greatly beneficial to prevention efforts. It is unclear to IDSA why recommendations regarding a Lyme disease vaccine are not addressed by this phase of the working group. An effective vaccine would be a key to prevention and thereby critically reduce the public health threat of Lyme disease."
Point- Paul G. Auwaerter, MD, MBA, FIDSA
President, IDSA
Counter Point- Lucy Barnes
Volunteer Lyme Patient Advocate
May 15, 2018
