Centers For Disease Control (CDC) is encouraging the spread of Lyme Disease

Redflagsdaily.com
Editor: Nicholas Regush Is The CDC Promoting The Spread Of Lyme
Disease?

By Marjorie Tietjen
daystar1952@xxxxxxxxx
Director For Lyme Disease Concerns
Common Cause Medical Research Foundation

It certainly appears that The Centers For Disease Control (CDC) is
encouraging the spread of Lyme Disease (borrelia burgdorferi) and other
chronic illnesses, which may be caused by various strains of
spirochetes not currently being tested for.

To begin with, the CDC states that Lyme Disease is a clinical
diagnosis. This means that when determining whether a patient may or
may not have Lyme disease, the physician must consider the extensive
array of symptoms which present in Lyme disease and the history of the
patient. Medical tests should only be used as an adjunct or aid in this
determination.

The CDC uses specific criteria for interpreting the Western Blot in
regards to Lyme Disease. The CDC states in their fine print that their
very restrictive criteria is only to be used for surveillance purposes
and not for patient diagnosis. However, this crucial fact is not made
clear to the health departments, laboratories or doctors. As a result
thousands - perhaps even millions of people with chronic illness are
being misdiagnosed and left untreated.

In February of 2004, Connecticut held a hearing which addressed this
issue. Attorney General Blumenthal requested that Yale, the National
Institute of Health (NIH) and the CDC attend the Hearing. All three
institutions declined the invitation. We then sought the aid of our
congressmen who did end up convincing the CDC to attend. One of the
main forces behind the non-treatment of Lyme is Yale's stance that 3 to
4 weeks of antibiotic treatment is almost always sufficient to produce
a cure. Certain doctors at Yale contend that after the 30-day treatment
period, if one still has the exact same symptoms, it is no longer
active chronic Lyme but is now suddenly an autoimmune disorder. They
have no proof to back this up and this was made evident when they did
testify at our first Lyme hearing several years back. Perhaps this is
why they were reluctant to attend our most recent hearing. Many
patients who go to Yale for help with suspected Lyme are being
diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue
syndrome, ALS and even Lupus. Yale evidently feels there is no such
thing as chronic active Lyme Disease.

The main focus of the hearing last year was to educate the medical
community as to the extensive problem of Lyme being misdiagnosed as
many other diseases and conditions. One of the prime reasons for this
medical disaster is that doctors are placing too much reliance on the
two recommended Lyme tests: the Elisa and the Western Blot. At our
hearing, Attorney General Blumenthal strongly advised the CDC to alert
the health departments, laboratories and doctors not to use the
over-restrictive criteria involving the Western Blot for diagnosing
Lyme disease. Again, this is one of the main factors as to why so many
people are not being properly diagnosed and as a result are becoming
disabled and some are even dying. You may not hear of people dying from
Lyme disease. Usually you will be told that the death was from a heart
attack or some other end result of the Lyme disease process. Scientists
are just beginning to realize the extensive nature of this disease and
it's co-infections.

It has been a year now since the hearing and we have been waiting for
the CDC to correct this unnecessary situation. Instead of backing up
their original statement not to use CDC criteria for diagnostic
purposes, they have diverted the public's attention from that issue by
coming up with a different angle.

I was directed to the CDC website. On April 3, 2005 there were two new
highlights posted. One was entitled "Caution Regarding Testing for
Lyme disease" and the second one was "Information About Lyme disease on
the Internet". The impression left by these articles is that only
government websites or those websites which are partially sponsored or
affiliated with certain government agencies, have the correct
information concerning Lyme disease. As far as testing goes, it appears
that the tests which are finding an extensive amount of Lyme in the
population are the very ones the CDC is claiming are inaccurate.

The particular tests which the CDC is discouraging the use of are the
urine antigen test, the polymerase chain reaction tests and the immune
fluorescent staining for cell wall deficient forms of Borrelia
burgdorfei (Lyme). On the whole patients have had very positive
results using tests of this sort as a basis, along with clinical
judgment, for antibiotic treatment. There have been many very ill
patients who have tested negative on CDC approved tests, went on to be
further tested by these other methods, and were found to be positive
and then improved on antibiotics. It is ironic that the CDC is
throwing a negative light on the very tests which appear to be saving
people's lives.

Antibody tests have limited usefulness, especially in chronic Lyme
Disease. The following is a very important list from Dr.Robert
Bransfield's website. It shows the many reasons why a patient can test
negative on these CDC approved tests and still have Lyme disease. It
would be an excellent list to take with you when visiting your doctor.
After looking over this list, one can see why depending on antibody
testing for a diagnosis can be very risky business. Why then would the
CDC encourage us to depend on the antibody tests to diagnose Lyme
disease? Why are they discouraging the use of the very tests that have
already helped countless patients access treatment and as a result gain
concrete improvement?

The specific tests and the order of testing, which the CDC suggests,
results in vast under-diagnosis. Is this the goal? Could it be
possible that the CDC is intricately meshed with the pharmaceutical
companies? Is a treatable epidemic being covered up for the purpose of
financial gain? When a patient is handed a negative diagnosis for Lyme
disease they proceed to visit specialist after specialist seeking a
diagnosis. This results in multiple isolated diagnoses, such as
irritable bowel syndrome, carpal tunnel, migraine headaches, fatigue,
depression, ADD, eye problems, heart problems, foot and leg pain, etc.
Lyme disease can present with 40 or more symptoms throughout the body.
It becomes obvious that marketing many symptomatic treatments is much
more profitable than promoting one which cures. What are the real
causes of our ever expanding list of chronic illnesses and conditions
which have no definitive tests, causes or cures? Microbes and
chemicals in our food and environment obviously are playing a much
larger role than is being admitted by the government agencies who are
supposedly responsible for our health.

Concerning the article on the CDC's website "Inaccurate Information
About Lyme Disease on the Internet" by James D. Cooper M.D. and Henry
Feder Jr. M.D; the basis of the article is to shed suspicion and doubt
concerning any Lyme disease information we find on the internet that is
not sponsored or approved by the government.

According to this article only government research or approved research
is valid. Evidently the government and or mainstream medicine
discounts any empirical evidence gained through hands on experience in
treating chronic active Lyme. The Infectious Diseases Society of
America and the CDC have no treatment protocols for chronic Lyme
because they state there is no such thing as persistent infection.

I challenge them to provide proof to back up this statement. In fact,
The Greater Hartford Lyme Disease Action and Support Group is posting a
10,000 dollar reward to any doctor or researcher who can prove beyond
a doubt that Lyme disease cannot be a persistent infection; that it is
absolutely cured and totally erradicated from the body with 6 weeks of
antibiotic treatment. There are many articles, studies and personal
experiences which prove that Lyme can be a persistent infection despite
long term antibiotic treatment. (To check out some of the articles and
studies which back up the chronic persistent infection stance...please
see this pdf file

The CDC recommends one dose of 200mg of doxycycline as prophylaxis
(preventative measure) when bitten by a tick. In their view, this is
supposed to be sufficient. I am a personal witness to the fact that
this is not always sufficient. I have a friend who was bitten by a
tick. The tick was removed and 100mg of doxycycline was taken
immediately, twice a day for 30 days. The day after the medication was
stopped, this person presented with multiple Lyme rashes all over their
body, suggesting a systemic infection. When tested, this person was
CDC-postive. So, not only is one dose not always enough, but in this
case 30 days was not enough!

The article by Cooper and Feder also states that "Lyme Disease has
never been passed in breast milk to an infant." (American Academy of
Pediatrics). How can a sweeping statement like this be credibly made?
To begin with, there are studies that have shown Bb to be present in
breast milk, and a study from Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious
Disease vol 21, Issue 3 March 1995, page 121-128 entitled "Detection of
Borrelia burgdorferi DNA by polymerase chain reaction in the urine and
breast milk of patients with Lyme".

The CDC may tell us that this does not prove that it can be passed on
to the infant. This may be true, but unfortunately, the testing is so
inaccurate for this that the statement cannot be proven. It would
also be helpful when evaluating this statement to know what percentage
of the nursing population and their infants have been tested for Lyme.
Studies with animals have shown that the organism has been transmitted
to infant mice through breast milk.

Independent researchers and Lyme-literate doctors who are presented day
after day with cause and effect evidence involving thousands of
patients have no doubts in their minds that Lyme disease and some of
it's co-infections can be chronic. Why is this empirical evidence being
discounted and covered up? Why are doctors being persecuted for curing
and or improving their patients with long term antibiotics?

On May 7, in Connecticut, the Greater Hartford Lyme Disease Support and
Action Group is holding an important conference. If you have any loved
ones or know any friends with disease conditions such as ALS, M.S,
Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, ADD, OCD, Autism, Bi
Polar Depression, Alzheimer's etc., please encourage them to come to
this conference.

The misdiagnoses concerning these diseases are staggering. This
conference is featuring highly respected researchers from across the
country who will be addressing these issues. They will also speak about
how Lyme disease may play a role in these diseases. For more
information you can send me an e-mail. I urge you to attend and make a
difference. Much of the chronic illness in our country is tragic and
unnecessary. We need to take back responsibility for our own
healthcare.


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