The ABC's & XYZ's of Lyme Disease: Monkey Business - Part 2 of a Series

by Tina J. Garcia

Lyme disease (LD) is an infection caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb). Its basic form is that of a spirochete bacteria, which is in the shape of a corkscrew. However, research has shown Bb to be a stealth pathogen that can change its form into cysts, blebs and rings. Lyme disease is also referred to as Borreliosis, and if it has affected the central nervous system (CNS), it is referred to as Neuroborreliosis. Syphilis is another infection caused by a spirochete bacterium, Treponema pallidum. Because syphilis imitates so many other conditions, it has been called The Great Imitator. Lyme disease is now known as The New Great Imitator for the very same reason. Due to the fact that LD symptoms are so varied and manifest themselves in so many ways throughout the body, misdiagnoses are unfortunately too common for patients infected with the Bb pathogen.

It is most often transmitted by attachment and feeding of a tick that is infected with the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium. Technical Information Memorandum #26 dated March 1990 from the United States Armed Forces Pest Management Board (AFPMB), entitled Lyme Disease - Vector Surveillance and Control, states that Ixodes black-legged ticks, Lone star ticks, American dog ticks and Brown dog ticks have been found "naturally" infected with Bb. This reference to ticks being "naturally" infected causes me to wonder how ticks become infected "unnaturally." It is interesting that this armed forces document made such a distinction between naturally and unnaturally-infected ticks. Are unnatuarally infected ticks those that are being infected and studied in biowarfare labs?

This Memorandum also states that other blood-sucking insects such as mosquitoes, fleas and horseflies have also been found to be infected with Bb. Although transmission from these vectors has not been confirmed, we as individuals must take responsibility for our own well-being and be aware that ALL blood-sucking creatures may carry and transmit various infectious pathogens. Please remember that, just because a mode of transmission hasn't yet been proven through research that hasn't yet been performed, this does not mean that transmission through the bites of these pests cannot occur. It only means that it hasn't yet been proven.

Let's try to avoid ALL ticks and other possible vectors, not just what are commonly referred to as "deer ticks." For public health agencies to continually refer to only one type of tick as being a menace to people's health is in my opinion, misleading. Most of us look to our public health agencies for responsible and accurate information. As a patient, I have found that, in the bizarre world of Lyme disease, at times it has served me better not to rely upon our public health agencies for information, because doing so would have caused irreparable harm to my health.

The majority of physicians will inform you that Lyme disease or Borreliosis cannot be transmitted sexually, in utero or via breast milk, because again, transmission by these means hasn't been PROVEN. However, one should not discount the possibility of sexual and nursing transmission, because the bacterium has been isolated in male and female body fluids and breast milk. Many couples with one person infected with Lyme disease insist that they have passed the disease to their partner. Physicians experienced in treating Lyme disease may encourage couples to get treatment simultaneously to prevent the possibility of infection being passed back and forth. If only one person receives treatment and the other person is unknowingly infected, it may diminish the effectiveness of the treatment.

Many Lyme disease patients claim that their Lyme infections have passed to their unborn children. A number of children exposed to Bb in utero have been born with various serious health problems, and unfortunately, some of those problems proved fatal. Again from U.S. AFPMB Memorandum #26: “4. Transmission through the placenta to the fetus has occurred in pregnant women, resulting in abortions and still births, or physical and cognitive defects in full term, surviving individuals." Dr. Eugene Shapiro of Yale University has stated just the opposite, that there has not been one documented case of Bb transmission from mother to fetus or through breast milk. How is it that the U.S. AFPMB is stating that transmission has definitely occurred in utero and via breastfeeding, which supports clinical observations, and then an alleged Lyme expert, Dr. Eugene Shapiro, makes a contradictory statement? Who are we to believe? It is definitely the choice of physicians and patients to believe whom they think is correct. It is my opinion that the statements made by Dr. Eugene Shapiro referred to above are misleading and may possibly have caused and may possibly be causing irreparable harm to many children and their families. Due to the fact that Dr. Shapiro is regarded in some small circles as a pediatric Lyme expert, this has very serious implications.

Along with Lyme disease, ticks can transmit other infections, which are referred to as co-infections. They can include, but are not limited to, Erlichia, Bartonella, Tularemia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Mycoplasma. In addition, infected ticks can transmit a malaria-type infection caused by a blood parasite; this parasite is called Babesia. Some patients are infected with the borrelia burgdorferi bacteria only and others are infected with one or more co-infections. In the United States, other names have been given to Borrelia-caused infections, such as STARI, Southern Tick Associated Rash Illness. I find it troubling that the Lyme Cartel of alleged Lyme experts state that Lone star ticks do not carry Bb and that STARI is not caused by Bb. The reason I question this position is that spectometry research is currently being conducted at the University of Arizona in Tucson by Dr. Vicki H. Wysocki. Dr. Wysocki, in collaboration with Biowarfare Lab Director Dr. Alan Barbour at the University of California Irvine, is using mass spectometric techniques to identify host characteristics in Lone star tick nymphs infected with Borrelia burgdorferi. If Ixodes ticks are the only ticks that alleged Lyme experts claim are vectors, why is Biowarfare Lab Director Dr. Alan Barbour overseeing studies using Lone star ticks as vectors of Bb?

To most patients with Borrelia infections such as Lyme disease and STARI, the name is of little significance. After being ping-ponged from one doctor to another, most people end up diagnosing themselves anyway and know that they have some sort of tick-borne infection that requires aggressive treatment. It is the struggle to obtain diagnosis and treatment that becomes a patient's focus and mission. I know it may be hard for some physicians reading this to accept that patients can indeed diagnose themselves, but I respectfully urge all physicians to please listen to what your patient is telling you about themselves.

Borreliosis and co-infections cause a multitude of symptoms. Having a multitude of infections severely complicates the ability to treat the patient successfully. Not all patients who are bitten by ticks break out in the Erythema Migrans (EM) rash. This rash is commonly referred to as a bull's-eye rash, but may not always present looking like a bull's-eye. An accurate clinical diagnosis, not based solely upon lab tests, but based upon a patient's history and symptoms is of the utmost importance. This is crucial for diagnosis of acute or early-stage Lyme disease, soon after initial infection occurs. Left untreated, which is often the case due to physician and patient lack of knowledge about tick-borne infections and/or denial of its existence in certain areas, the bacteria continue to replicate inside the patient's body. This may result in extensive damage to the central nervous system, resulting in serious cognitive and motor dysfunction. Clinical diagnosis is also important in diagnosing late-stage or tertiary Lyme disease aka chronic Lyme disease aka Lyme Borreliosis Complex (LBC). When referring to late-stage illness from Bb, I suppose I will even mention a nebulous condition affectionately dubbed Post Lyme Syndrome (PLS) courtesy of our "with-friends-like-this-who-needs-enemies" Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Guideline authors aka Lyme Cabal aka Lyme Cartel.

So, why don't more doctors know about tick-borne infections, and why is it so difficult to identify and diagnose a rash from an infected tick bite?

It is unbelievable to hear stories from LD patients about their experiences with physicians and the diagnoses of EM rash from acute, or early, Lyme disease. Some examples of erroneous physician EM diagnoses given to patients have been possible blood clot in leg, allergic reaction, spider bite (it absolutely couldn't be a tick bite, but it can definitely be a spider bite?) and my all-time favorite, sometimes these things just happen to us and we don't know the cause. Interpretation: S___ HAPPENS as a diagnosis? One of my good friends, who has been a Lyme disease advocate for years in Connecticut, told me a story about a woman who was experiencing symptoms indicative of LD. Now, just to explain, Connecticut is the epicenter of the Lyme epidemic. Most of us would assume that the doctors in this area would have seen enough rashes and noted enough symptoms of Lyme that a diagnosis wouldn't be missed. Think again. My friend told me this woman saw a doctor in Connecticut, and when she told the doctor she suspected she was suffering from Lyme disease, he told her, "You couldn't possibly have Lyme disease! Lyme, Connecticut is thirty minutes from here!" In Part 1 of this series, I mentioned that naming this dreadful infection after the town of Lyme is a nemesis for Lyme patients. It causes physicians and the general public to believe that all the cases are isolated in one small area, Lyme, Connecticut.

To make matters worse, a former Lyme disease Director at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Edward McSweegan, stated in his March 16, 2006 published letter to the journal Nature: "First, Lyme disease is non-communicable, readily treatable with common antibiotics and geographically localized in the United States." I see a need to correct Dr. McSweegan's oversimplification of Bb, which is a known disabling biowarfare agent. The term "non-communicable" is again being disguised as science by a member of the Lyme Cartel, when it is actually a useless butt nugget of opinion that patients consistently flush into the sewer of Lyme Cartel "science." "Readily treatable" only pertains to those few cases that are actually acknowledged and diagnosed by physicians. "Common antibiotics" are not common if they are not readily available by prescription from a doctor. "Geographically localized" is worn-out spin that is winding its way down the same toilet as the rest of the Lyme Cartel sewage-based science.

Dr. McSweegan also wrote in his letter: "In the United States, activists have turned Lyme disease into everyone's backyard bogeyman." It is my opinion that Lyme disease is not the BogeyMAN; but rather the BogeyMEN are the frightening members of a secret research cult known as the Lyme Cartel.

It is more than evident to many Lyme patients that those doctors who are not dedicated to treating tick-borne infections do everything they can to avoid treating them, even if it means ignoring the rash or other symptoms, trying to explain the symptoms away, accusing the patient of imagining all the symptoms, attributing the symptoms to other conditions or diseases, prescribing medications that mask the symptoms but do not deal with any underlying infection, using abusive psychiatry through ad hominem attacks on their patients, using state health department statistics as a basis for not considering the possibility of tick-borne infections or flatly refusing treatment. These inept and seemingly orchestrated responses are causing a great number of people to remain undiagnosed and untreated for unconscionable periods of time, allowing the untreated disease to ravage their bodies and exhaust their immune systems in trying to fight off the virulent infections. Doctors are playing Pass the Buck when a potential LD patient presents to their office and they refer their patient to the next doctor in line to give more excuses as to why the patient doesn't have Lyme disease.

Here's an example of Passing the Buck: In 2006, my husband was referred to an infectious disease specialist in Phoenix. While we were in Dr. Adriana Gaidici's office, I seized upon the opportunity to ask her if she treated Borreliosis. She got an exaggerated, heaven-bound, befuddled look on her face and scratched her chin. "Oh, you mean Lyme disease?" she asked. "Oh, no, I don't know about that. You need to find someone from the northeast who knows about Lyme disease," as she ran out the exam room door. A few months ago, a patient told me that Dr. Gaidici had published some research on Lyme disease, so I looked it up online. And sure enough, published in The American Journal of Medicine in 2003, Dr. Gaidici is listed as one of the authors of research performed at New York Medical College, along with Dr. Gary Wormser and Dr. Robert Nadelman, two more members of the Lyme Cartel. Dr. Gaidici pretended that she knew nothing about Lyme disease and lied to me. Here is a link to the research. http://www.fibromyalgiasupport.com/library/print.cfm?ID=4938

Answering the questions about the difficulty in obtaining diagnosis and treatment is a long and complicated answer. We can begin in this part by explaining a little bit about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, better known as the CDC. This is a quote from a page on their website: "CDC protects people's health and safety by preventing and controlling diseases and injuries; enhances health decisions by providing credible information on critical health issues; and promotes healthy living through strong partnerships with local, national, and international organizations." Now, if I had read this glorious statement prior to becoming so ill with Lyme disease, I would have thought that the CDC had my best interests in mind. However, after witnessing the CDC's coordinated efforts in CONTROLLING Lyme disease and PREVENTING treatment for patients, I see that the organization is failing miserably to fulfill its mission.

Let's travel back in time seventy-some years and revisit Macon County, Alabama. According to the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, the Tuskegee Institute in cooperation with the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) began a public health study called the "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male." While you're reading this, please keep in mind that the PHS runs the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), a branch of the military, through the CDC and Allen C. Steere at Yale University was the EIS Officer assigned to study the first cases of Lyme disease.

According to the CDC website, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study "is an example of medical research gone wrong. The United States Public Health Service, in trying to learn more about syphilis and justify treatment programs for blacks, withheld adequate treatment from a group of poor black men who had the disease, causing needless pain and suffering for the men and their loved ones." I'll quote again from the CDC website, because the CDC's own words are absolutely priceless.

"The study involved 600 black men-399 with syphilis and 201 who did not have the disease. Researchers told the men they were being treated for ‘bad blood,’ a local term used to describe several ailments, including syphilis, anemia, and fatigue. In truth, they did not receive the proper treatment needed to cure their illness. In exchange for taking part in the study, the men received free medical exams, free meals, and burial insurance. Although originally projected to last 6 months, the study actually went on for 40 years."

Free exams, meals and burial insurance? I'd say that Lyme patients are getting gypped. We ain't gettin' nothin' but the useless IDSA Treatment Guidelines!

A heinous crime was committed against these men and their families similar to the heinous human experimentation conducted by Nazi scientists and pharmaceutical companies. Penicillin became available for treatment of syphilis in 1947, yet these innocent victims of cruel human experimentation (oops, I'm sorry, I meant to say study participants) were not offered or provided any treatment for their infectious disease. These men were not provided with all the information needed when they agreed to participate in this human experimentation. In other words, although the men agreed to participate, the participants did not give their informed consent, because they had not been given all the information needed to make an informed decision. Nor was informed consent obtained by the participants' wives and unborn children, who also unknowingly were actually forced to participate in the hideous experiment.

In July of 1972, the New York Times broke the story about the Tuskegee Study which led to the appointment of an Ad Hoc Advisory Panel who reviewed the study, resulting in termination of the study one month later. The CDC has a Timeline posted on their website, a couple of entries which are important when noting the similarities between the Tuskegee Study and the ongoing 30-plus-year Lyme Disease Study :

From the CDC Tuskegee Timeline:

1936 Major paper published. Study criticized because it is not known if men are being treated. Local physicians asked to assist and asked not to treat men. It was also decided to follow the men until death.

1940 Efforts made to hinder men from getting treatment ordered under the military draft effort.

1947 USPHS establishes "Rapid Treatment Centers" to treat syphilis; men in study are not treated, but syphilis declines.

1969 CDC reaffirms need for study and gains local medical societies' support (AMA and NMA chapters officially support continuation of study).

Following a 1973 class-action lawsuit filed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which resulted in a $9 million settlement granted to the study participants and their families and a 1997 public apology from President Bill Clinton, the Tuskegee Health Benefit Program was established. Guess who was given the responsibility for carrying out the program? It was given to the CDC, who in 1969 had reaffirmed the need for the study and had gained support for it from the AMA and NMA.

In conclusion, Lyme disease patients all over the world are being told by the CDC, authors of the IDSA Treatment Guidelines and physicians who are misinformed and misled by both of these organizations that they are suffering with something other than Lyme disease. Could that something be "bad blood?"

Treatment Guidelines have been published by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and are being utilized by insurance companies in providing treatment coverage benefits that allow ONLY short courses of antibiotic treatment for LD. The diagnostic parameters outlined in the IDSA guidelines for Lyme disease are beyond ludicrous and do not offer any positive recommendations regarding any alternative treatments. This guarantees longterm illness in the population.

In my opinion, both the 2000 and 2006 IDSA Lyme treatment guidelines have earned their rightful place in the eternal septic tank of raw sewage disseminated by the Lyme Cartel, which includes the CDC. Carefully-designed disease parameters that include ludicrous diagnostic criteria and treatment guidelines = A Borrelia Burgdorferi Longterm Study comparable to that of The Tuskegee Study, but without the legal mistakes of the past, that is guaranteed to last a long time without any accountability by those FORCING the Study upon its participants through orchestrated diagnostic and treatment failures. Borrelia Burgdorferi Longterm Study = Tuskegee Revisited.

Although public law (107-116) prohibits the use of the CDC epidemiology reporting criteria to be used for diagnostic purposes, the CDC and other public agencies are allowing this criteria to be utilized in laboratory test kits. This is being done through the ongoing adherence to laboratory criteria established fourteen years ago at the 1994 Dearborn Conference. So, although the CDC has issued weak announcements that their epidemiologic criteria should not be used for diagnosis, they are still complicit by allowing use of the epidemiologic criteria in serologic testing and clinical research studies. This issue will be addressed in subsequent parts of this series.

The Lyme Cartel and complicit IDSA followers act like the Three Monkeys, Dr. Kikazaru who hears no evil, Dr. Mizaru who sees no evil, and Dr. Iwazaru who speaks no evil. In other words, Dr. Kikazaru says, "I’ve never heard of chronic Lyme disease!" Dr. Mizaru says, “Lyme disease? I’ve never seen a case of Lyme in this state!" And Dr. Iwazaru says, "Lyme disease? Oh, we don’t wanna' talk about that!” This IDSA/CDC Lyme Monkey Business is perpetuating an epidemic that is affecting families across the United States and other parts of the world. I don't know about you, but I'm fed up with all this Monkey Business!