Mistaken Identity: Many Diagnoses are Frequently Misattributed to Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne infection in North America and Europe, commonly caused by one of three pathogenic genospecies of the spirochete Borrelia 1 2. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto is transmitted solely in North America, mostlyby the tick Ixodes scapularis. The infection typically causes dermatologic, musculoskeletal, neurologic, and cardiac illnesses. Both under- and over-diagnosis of Lyme disease have been well described3 4 5. While antibiotic therapy resolves symptoms for most infected patients, some are left with persistent subjective problems such as pain, fatigue or brain fog that may fall within the proposed entity post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome 6.

Source: The American Journal of Medicine - November 30, 2021 Category: General Medicine Authors: Takaaki Kobayashi, Yvonne Higgins, Michael T. Melia, Paul G. Auwaerter Source Type: research