Lyme disease in Florida — a year-round threat
-AA+A
By Special to the Chronicle
Monday, March 7, 2016 at 2:15 pm
By Lucy Barnes, Special to the Chronicle
“My doctor said he doesn’t know anything about Lyme disease.”
“My doctor said there is no Lyme disease in Florida.”
“My doctor said my test was negative, so I don’t have Lyme disease.”
“My daughter was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, depression and then arthritis. She actually had Lyme disease.”
“My cousin had a positive Lyme test after camping in Central Florida. Her doctors said there was no Lyme disease here, so the test was a false-positive. They diagnosed her with Guillain-Barre instead, and after suffering for several years she died.”
* * *
Florida studies indicate many animal species of wildlife are infected with Lyme and tick-borne diseases. Ticks and other vectors are harboring these diseases and, as a result, humans and pets are infected.
In Florida there are eight known strains of Lyme disease, 16 additional tick-borne diseases and 40 more vector-borne diseases affecting animals and humans.
A major problem is most of the known strains of Lyme are not detected by standard tests, so Lyme disease is missed in the South at an alarming rate. Even when Lyme tests indicate exposure, patients are often given inaccurate information leading to a misdiagnosis, inappropriate treatment, chronic illness, disability and death.
Known as the “great imitator,” Lyme disease is often mistaken for fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, lupus, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, depression, anxiety, CJD, Lou Gehrig’s, Parkinson’s, ADHD, dementia and Alzheimer’s.
There is a great and immediate need for all health care providers to be properly trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of Lyme and tick-borne diseases to understand limitations of laboratory tests, and to include Lyme disease in the differential diagnosis.