Understanding Lyme disease can be as complicated as the bacteria that causes it. Global Lyme Alliance is launching a podcast series to help make sense of it all. The podcasts will cover everything from basic Lyme disease facts to research initiatives.
The first podcast features GLA’s Dr. Harriet Kotsoris, Chief Scientific Officer, and Dr. Mayla Hsu, Science Officer. Dr. Kotsoris and Dr. Hsu help clarify some of the basic facts about Lyme disease, including symptoms and diagnosis. Below is an excerpt.
Host: In this series of podcasts we’ll answer a few common questions and unveil some surprising truths about Lyme disease. In this first podcast we’re hoping to cover some basic facts about Lyme disease. To get us started, Harriet, what exactly is Lyme disease?
Dr. Harriet Kotsoris: Lyme disease is an infectious disease that’s transmitted by a vector known as the blacklegged tick or Ixodes scapularis on the East Coast. Ixodes pacificus is on the West Coast. The disease is caused by a corkscrew shaped bacterium or spirochete known as Borrelia burgdorferi. It’s a multi-organ, multi-system disease. It’s acute onset may be heralded by an Erythema migrans or expanding bull’s-eye rash leading to flu-like illness consisting of headache, chills, fever, malaise, muscle aches and pains. Later stages of the disease can involve other organ systems of the body including the heart, brain, and joints. In it’s delayed or late disseminated phase it is particularly difficult and entrenched in the body, and more difficult to treat.
Host: What is the incidence of Lyme disease in America and around the world?
Dr. Kotsoris: The incidence of Lyme disease has been recently recognized to have grown exponentially. In the United States alone there are over 330,000 new cases reported each year. It is estimated that over 1 million in Europe have been affected by the disease and 1 in 25 people all around the world. These statistics come from European studies and actually one of our Scientific Advisory Board members, doctor Luc Montagnier, co-discoverer of the HIV.
Host: What are some of the tests used to diagnose Lyme disease? Are these tests dependable?
Dr. Mayla Hsu: The diagnostic test that is approved for Lyme disease testing here in the United States consists of 2 separate tests. The first is an ELISA or EIA Assay, and what that detects is antibodies that are specific for the Lyme bacterium, the Borrelia burgdorferi. Typically what happens is the person’s blood is drawn, and it goes through this first level of test and if it is positive or equivocal it goes through a second round of testing which is called the Western Blot. The Western Blot is a more specific test. It actually separates out the Borrelia burgdorferi proteins and then it looks for antibodies against 10 specific Borrelia proteins. There has to be 5 out of 10 possible antibodies against the bacteria that are present in the person’s blood for that test to be scored as a positive.
You asked whether or not these tests are dependable? Actually, they’re not, and that’s a big problem in Lyme disease because up to 60% of the two-tiered test negatives are considered to be possibly false negatives. We really don’t know in cases like that. If you get a Lyme disease test that’s positive, okay great. If tested positive now we can determine what your treatment is going to be, but if you test negative and you still have symptoms that are very much in line with Lyme disease it’s very hard to know if you were actually negative or not.
Below is the the full podcast with Dr. Kotsoris and Dr. Hsu. They continue their overview of Lyme disease, discussing diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
Follow Global Lyme Alliance on SoundCloud to hear future podcasts.
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