>> The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) <<
August 2017- Most sources used by the CDC to support their positions are more than 3 years old. Some are more than a decade old and some date back to the previous century. Their latest reviews and updates for most of their web pages on Lyme disease are also 2 years old, or more. Exceptions noted below...
1. CDC added- Testing Ticks Information. (The CDC recommends against it.)
https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/removal/index.html
2. This page (PTLDS) now includes a printable brochure about “peer-review” science to steer people away from reading other points of view from a variety of scientific researchers, organizations and medical professionals from the internet.
(The CDC's partners- IDSA Lyme disease guideline authors & associates- have been known to try to censor information that would be detrimental to their cause or that might put a dent in their income.)
https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/postlds/index.html
3. New CDC Brochure that still presents inaccurate information.
For example- all of the statements below are totally false, over a decade old, and/or do not present a full and accurate description.
"In most cases, the tick must be attached for 36-48 hours or more before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted."
"As soon as you notice a characteristic rash or other possible symptoms, consult your health care provider."
"A negative test in a patient with arthritis or other long standing symptoms is strong evidence that Lyme disease is not the cause of their illness."
"Longer courses of antibiotics have not been shown to be beneficial in patients who have been previously treated and have chronic symptoms."
"For the Guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, see: http://cid. oxfordjournals.org/content/43/9/1089.full "
Link
https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/resources/brochure/lymediseasebrochure.pdf
4. Contradictions in the information presented.
For example... How long must someone wait to test for Lyme disease after a tick bite (using tests that are already missing 74.9% of those with the infection)- a minimum of 2 weeks or maximum of 6 weeks?
In a CDC Lyme brochure specifically dedicated to children’s issues….
In the other CDC brochure on Lyme disease that is not age specific…
5. Additional information/references for health care providers to discourage them from treating patients who remain ill after a minimal course of antibiotics failed to cure them.
Inappropriate Treatment
Ettestad PJ, Campbell GL, Welbel SF, et al. Biliary complications in the treatment of unsubstantiated Lyme diseaseJ Infect Dis. 1995;171:356–361.
Holzbauer SM, Kemperman MM, Lynfield R. Death due to community-associated Clostridium difficile in a woman receiving prolonged antibiotic therapy for suspected Lyme diseaseClin Infect Dis. 2010;51:369–370.
Nelson C, Elmendorf S, Mead P. Neoplasms misdiagnosed as “chronic Lyme disease”JAMA Intern Med. 2015;175: 132–133. 36.
Patel R, Grogg KL, Edwards WD, Wright AJ, Schwenk NM. Death from inappropriate therapy for Lyme diseaseClin Infect Dis. 2000;31(4):1107-9.
Page last updated: August 18, 2017
Link
https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/healthcare/index.html
The CDC has a financial stake in Lyme disease, as do members of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and their Lyme disease guideline authors- their official consultants and partners.
Perhaps those who don't have a financial stake in Lyme disease outcomes and who haven't been proven to be conflicted (such as the IDSA*), and who simply want to help prevent others from becoming ill and base their information on "real" science would be a better source for accurate information.
I certainly think so. LB
* Attorney General Blumenthal stated in his 2008 investigation of the IDSA...
"The IDSA's 2006 Lyme disease guideline panel undercut its credibility by allowing individuals with financial interests -- in drug companies, Lyme disease diagnostic tests, patents and consulting arrangements with insurance companies -- to exclude divergent medical evidence and opinion.
In today's healthcare system, clinical practice guidelines have tremendous influence on the marketing of medical services and products, insurance reimbursements and treatment decisions."
Lucy Barnes
August 2017