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From lymdisease.org: "In 1994, at a meeting in Dearborn, Michigan, a group of laboratory scientists changed the serological definition of Lyme disease in concert with the development of a Lyme vaccine. The new blood test would make it easier to secure FDA approval for the vaccine, called LYMErix, those at the helm of product development said.

Instead of documenting an expansion and intensification of “bands” representing antibodies to the disease on a Western blot, as before, the new, more restrictive test, called for detection of 5 of 10 bands. This was one pattern of many, according to the manufacturer, that could indicate true infection.

Among the other changes, the test would no longer consider, for purposes of diagnosis, the protein that formed the active ingredient in the vaccine –Outer Surface Protein (Osp) A. Without screening for OspA and its connected protein, OspB, a vaccinated person would test negative, clearing an easy path for FDA approval of the vaccine. However, this made it virtually impossible for many of the sickest patients to get diagnosed with Lyme, including those who would have tested positive under the previous standards." More here: https://www.lymedisease.org/vaccine-chapter-of-cure-unknown/

Sign and share the petition to drain the CDC swamp: https://www.change.org/p/president-trump-and-congress-drain-the-cdc-swamp-and-legalize-lyme-disease

Good news! West Virginia's Senate Bill 242, requiring health insurance providers to cover the expenses of long-term antibiotic therapy for chronic Lyme disease, was signed into law on March 20, 2018. The bill was pushed forth by Morgan County residents Eric and Linda Pritchard who campaigned the state through public outreach and petitioned their Senators to sponsor and pass this bill. State Senator Charles Trump (R-Morgan) was the lead sponsor of the bill. The bill goes into effect on June 6, 2018. --- Keep the pressure on and sign the petition to Legalize Lyme country-wide: https://www.change.org/p/president-trump-and-congress-drain-the-cdc-swamp-and-legalize-lyme-disease

Lyme isn’t just one strain of Borrelia bacteria. B. miyamotoi has been around in California since at least the 1980s, but just who has been looking for it?

From the report: "To determine whether human Borrelia miyamotoi infection occurs in the far-western United States, we tested archived [blood samples] from northwestern California residents for antibodies to this emerging relapsing fever spirochete. These residents frequently were exposed to I. pacificus ticks in a region where B. miyamotoi tick infection has been reported." Out of 101 residents, 26 were positive. Their blood samples were drawn in 1988 or 1989. The study concludes: "Health care professionals in the far-western United States should be aware that B. miyamotoi disease may occur throughout the geographic distribution of I. pacificus and that improved relapsing fever group spirochete antibody assays are urgently needed." -- Sign and share the petition to Legalize Lyme! https://www.change.org/p/president-trump-and-congress-drain-the-cdc-swamp-and-legalize-lyme-disease

Dementia can be a symptom of Lyme disease. In a 2017 report, an 80-year-old patient was first suspected of suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. However after a spinal tap was tested for Lyme Borrelia, the patient was found to be positive for Lyme disease (neuroborreliosis). Symptoms of dementia resolved after the administration of antibiotics. Lyme disease can easily be misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s, Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson’s, or any neurodegenerative disease presenting as dementia. Source links at lymestats.org — Sign and share the petition to Legalize Lyme: https://www.change.org/p/president-trump-and-congress-drain-the-cdc-swamp-and-legalize-lyme-disease

Lyme disease is in Spain. In a 2017 study of Ixodes ricinus ticks in the northwestern region of Spain, 32.3% of adult female ticks tested positive for Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato). Multiple genospecies were also found: B. garinii, B. valaisiana, B. lusitaniae, B. afzelii, B. burgdorferi (sensu stricto) and B. miyamotoi. From the study: "The significant prevalences of B. burgdorferi (s.l.) genospecies detected in questing ticks from NW Spain are similar to those detected in northern and central European countries and higher to those previously found in Spain. These results together with the high incidence of LB in humans and the high seroprevalence of B. burgdorferi (s.l.) in roe deer shown in other studies reveal that the northwest area is one of the most risky regions for acquiring LB in Spain." -- Sign and share the petition to Legalize Lyme: https://www.change.org/p/president-trump-and-congress-drain-the-cdc-swamp-and-legalize-lyme-disease

Adding to decades of evidence that Lyme borrelia is capable of persistence, a new 2017 study from Tulane University found that the bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment following infection. The researchers used several important techniques, including xenodiagnoses, to determine if the bacteria persisted. The study measured antibody immune response to the bacteria both before and after treatment, which is how current diagnostics typically evaluate Lyme disease in humans. Living B. burgdorferi spirochetes were found in multiple organs after treatment with doxycycline. Immune response to the bacteria varied widely in both treated and untreated subjects.

“It is apparent from these data that B. burgdorferi bacteria, which have had time to adapt to their host, have the ability to escape immune recognition, tolerate the antibiotic doxycycline and invade vital organs such as the brain and heart,” said lead author Monica Embers, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at Tulane University School of Medicine. “Although current antibiotic regimens may cure most patients who are treated early, if the infection is allowed to progress, the 28-day treatment can be insufficient, based on these findings.” The study also found: • All subjects treated with antibiotics were found to have some level of infection 7 – 12 months post treatment. • Despite testing negative by antibody tests for Lyme disease, two of 10 subjects were still infected with Lyme bacteria in heart and bladder. • Lyme bacteria which persist after antibiotic treatment are still viable.

Sign and share the petition to #legalizelyme : https://www.change.org/p/president-trump-and-congress-drain-the-cdc-swamp-and-legalize-lyme-disease

Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) is a newly recognized immunological condition in which mast cells inappropriately and excessively release chemical mediators, resulting in a range of chronic symptoms, sometimes including anaphylaxis or near-anaphylaxis attacks. Primary symptoms include cardiovascular, dermatological, gastrointestinal, neurological and respiratory problems. Lyme Literate Doctors (LLMDs) are discovering that a percentage of their patients test positive for MCAS. -- Sign the petition to Legalize Lyme disease! https://www.change.org/p/president-trump-and-congress-drain-the-cdc-swamp-and-legalize-lyme-disease

In a study of 27 children diagnosed with pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD), 89% tested positive for one or more pathogens tied to tick-borne illness. Pathogens included Lyme (Borrelia burgdorferi), Bartonella, Babesia, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. 81% of the sample was male and 19% was female. Average age at PBD diagnosis was 7.3 years. — Sign and share the petition to Legalize Lyme: https://www.change.org/p/president-trump-and-congress-drain-the-cdc-swamp-and-legalize-lyme-disease

In an in-vitro evaluation of five antibiotics typically used against Lyme Borrelia, Doxycycline reduced spirochetal structures by 90% but increased the number of round bodies about twofold. Round bodies are also known as the (dormant) cyst form of Lyme. Once the host environment is free of killers, round bodies revert to spirochetes and resume penetration of the host body. A short course of Doxycycline is the CDC-recommended therapy for Lyme disease. -- Sign and share the petition to Legalize Lyme: https://www.change.org/p/president-trump-and-congress-drain-the-cdc-swamp-and-legalize-lyme-disease

A 2010 study claims that transmission of Bartonella to humans from ticks has not yet been documented. Their findings implicate cats and cat flea feces as possible transmitters. They saw Bartonella as a coincidental co-infection to Lyme disease. "Bites or scratches from infected cats are associated with development of cat-scratch disease. The gut of cat fleas is commonly infected, and exposure to feces of infected fleas is the presumed route of transmission to uninfected cats and a possible route of transmission to humans." -- Sign and share the petition to Drain the CDC Swamp and Legalize Lyme Disease: https://www.change.org/p/president-trump-and-congress-drain-the-cdc-swamp-and-legalize-lyme-disease

Crows, common city dwellers, can be hosts to ticks carrying zoonotic pathogens including Lyme, Anaplasma, and Rickettsia. In one recent study, 33% of crows sampled carried ticks positive for Anaplasma and two strains of Rickettsia. --- Please sign and share: https://www.change.org/p/president-obama-and-congress-a-call-to-legalize-lyme-disease

From a new study out of Drexel University which duplicates the findings of Dr. Alan MacDonald: “It is the reaction of the immune system to [Borrelia] coated with biofilms that leads to [Alzheimer’s] with all its manifestations. Killing these organisms before they arrive at the brain or before they [create biofilms] is exceedingly important in this disease. Moreover, it will likely lead to a “cure” of this woeful infirmity, just as has been the case in syphilitic dementia.” -- More proof of 1.) chronic Lyme and 2.) its connection to Alzheimer's... Please sign and share: https://www.change.org/p/president-obama-and-congress-a-call-to-legalize-lyme-disease

"Serologic tests have been used to detect early Lyme disease to allow for prompt treatment. However, nearly half of serologic tests failed to detect Lyme disease in a recent Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of North American Research in the Journal, PLOS ONE. This study suggests that a clinical diagnosis remains necessary to allow for prompt treatment of nearly half of the early Lyme disease cases." -Dr. Daniel Cameron --- Please sign and share the petition to #LegalizeLyme : https://www.change.org/p/president-obama-and-congress-a-call-to-legalize-lyme-disease

The first case of Babesiosis caused by the Babesia microti strain has been diagnosed in Spain. Babesiosis is an emerging zoonotic disease now found in several areas of the world. -- Sign the Legalize Lyme petition: https://www.change.org/p/president-obama-and-congress-a-call-to-legalize-lyme-disease

Congressional Candidate, Zephyr Teachout, is the first politician to mention Lyme disease in a campaign video. In the video, she interviews renown physician, Dr. Richard Horowitz, who states that Lyme disease cases are likely 50 times the CDC incidence rate, bringing it to 1.5 million new cases per year. -- Sign the Legalize Lyme petition: https://www.change.org/p/president-obama-and-congress-a-call-to-legalize-lyme-disease

Lyme disease is in Alabama! In 2015, the Alabama Department of Health released a statement alerting all state physicians that it is possible to contract Lyme disease inside the state, and in fact, seven counties are endemic for Lyme. Case counts have increased dramatically since 2011. The statement reads: “Today, Lyme disease should be considered in anyone with appropriate clinical symptoms, with or without known exposure to a tick bite or travel out of state.” In spite of this, the Alabama Lyme Disease Association is continuing to be flooded with calls from patients who are told by their physicians that despite positive blood tests, they "can't have Lyme because we don't have Lyme disease in Alabama". -- More info at http://www.alabamalymedisease.org -- Sign and share the petition: https://www.change.org/p/president-obama-and-congress-a-call-to-legalize-lyme-disease

University of Bristol has conducted the largest ever study of ticks in dogs across the UK and found that almost 1/3 of all dogs were carrying a tick. Ticks carry a range of diseases including Lyme disease and potentially fatal canine babesiosis. The study also found that dogs were at risk of ticks regardless of whether they were urban or rural. -- Please sign and share the petition to #LegalizeLyme https://www.change.org/p/president-obama-and-congress-a-call-to-legalize-lyme-disease -- More info about The Big Tick Project: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2016/september/big-tick-project.html

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