Don’t believe I’ve ever seen such a ??? (squirrely?) report. Or maybe I should say, I’ve seen 3 year olds who can draw a straighter line, and mashed potatoes that have more life left in them than this does. It is like they are saying- "we have Lyme here, no we don’t, yes we do, well maybe, no the evidence shows it, but it can’t be right, we need to tear down that documentation"… blah blah blah. Examples of some quotes below...
"At least 525 human cases [79–82,84–89] and two bovine cases [28] of Lyme-like illness have been mentioned in the scientific literature [Australia]. Only the Lyme-like cases with specified locations are portrayed in Fig. 1, and only those with detailed case presentation, diagnosis and location are presented in Table 1. It should be noted that the majority of these are Lyme-like cases that are suspected, but not confirmed to represent cases of Lyme Borreliosis. Unreliability of the published case reports in their diagnostic methods means the evidence for Australian Lyme-like cases remains quite unsubstantial and unconvincing."
"Over 200 Australian patients (and one Australian cow) presenting with a Lyme-like disease have tested “positive” for Lyme Borreliosis serology [28,79,80,88,89]. However, 32 of these were diagnosed by IFA or EIA only [28,79,89]. None of these one-tiered tested patients (EIA or IFA only) can be definitively considered to have Lyme Borreliosis without further confirmatory testing. Of the 28 positives described by Mayne [80], 15 were immunoblotted without a supporting IFA result being published, severely hindering the validity of these results. A further nine “positive” IgM results are ruled out because of the lack of diagnostic value of the IgM results when the clinical syndrome has been present for greater than 30 days."
BUT, with all those reports they still say… "Suggestions that a Lyme-like disease may exist in Australia [17] remain controversial and no study to date has definitively identified the presence of a Borrelia species infecting humans that have a locally acquired Lyme-like syndrome.”
Conclusion Section Also States- "Over 500 Lyme-like cases from Australian patients have been published in the scientific literature [79–82,84–89] and two bovine cases [28] but upon investigation, these diagnoses were highly questionable due to significant flaws in the diagnostic process or presentation of results."
HINT to where this craziness is coming from- "Conversely, in Westchester County, New York…"
GOT to like this one- they are saying we don’t have Lyme, it is Babesia instead, and by the way both can be chronic… "It therefore appears that Babesia is capable of mimicking a Lyme-like syndrome. Like B. burgdorferi s. l., Babesia is also capable of establishing long-term, persistent infection [107]."
More Excuses- "Since diffuse arthralgia, cognitive difficulties and fatigue are common in chronic Lyme Borreliosis, it is possible for fibromyalgia to be mistaken for Lyme borrelioisis and vice versa[147,148]."
Morgellons patients…. "Delusional parasitosis is a psychiatric disorder where a patient has the false but fixed belief that they are being infested by parasites [153,154]. It may present as a primary somatic disorder or secondary to other conditions such as drug use, schizophrenia or dementia. Primary delusional parasitosis occurs most commonly in middle-aged women, and except for their delusion the patient may otherwise be rational and mentally healthy [153]."
Morgellons patients- she was just depressed, delusional and needed a good talking to…."There has been one published Australian case of delusional parasitosis in which the patient was convinced she had Lyme Borreliosis [155]. The patient brought evidence of “ticks” to her doctor and presented with rashes as a result of scratching and disinfecting. The patient had shaved off all her hair and fumigated her house in an attempt to be rid of the arthropods. However after several months of cognitive behavioural therapy and 150 mg of venlafaxine, her paranoia and symptoms were successfully alleviated [155].” [Venlafaxine is used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety, and panic disorder.]
Selected References
Reference # 50
G. Stanek, G.P. Wormser, J. Gray, F. StrleLyme borreliosisLancet, 379 (9814) (2012), pp. 461-473
Reference #54
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Lyme Disease Diagnosis and Testing
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2011)
Reference # 57
B.J. JohnsonLaboratory diagnostic testing for Borrelia burgdorferi infectionLyme Disease: An Evidence-Based Approach, CAB International, Cambridge (MA) (2011), pp. 73-88
Reference # 58
T.L. Keller, J.J. Halperin, M. WhitmanPCR detection of Borrelia burgdorferi DNA in cerebrospinal fluid of Lyme neuroBorreliosis patientsNeurology, 42 (1992), p. 32
Reference # 78
A. Feder
An appraisal of “chronic Lyme disease” N. Engl. J. Med., 2008 (2008), pp. 428-431
Reference # 107
P.J. Krause, A. Spielman, S.R. Telford, V.K. Sikand, K. McKay, D. Christianson, et al.Persistent parasitemia after acute babesiosisN. Engl. J. Med., 339 (1998), pp. 160-165
Reference # 148
H. Dinerman, A.C. SteereLyme disease associated with fibromyalgiaAnn. Intern. Med., 117 (1992), p. 281
Reference # 154
F.C. Wilson, D.Z. UslanDelusional parasitosisMayo Clin. Proc., 79 (2004), p. 1470
Reference # 156
S. Whiteman
Lyme Disease Patients Appalled by Recent Claims About Lyme Disease Testing [Media Release]
Lyme Disease Association of Australia (LDAA) (2014)
ARTICLE
Is there a Lyme-like disease in Australia? Summary of the findings to date
Melissa Judith Chalada, John Stenos, Richard Stewart Bradbury
Full article- free access. [Abstract was added to Pub-Med in June 2017.]
Full Article- Link Here
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352771416300039
Abstract Only