The traditional view of Lyme Disease is that it is easy to treat with a short course of oral antibiotics. If patients do not recover it is classed at Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome and no further treatment is offered. However, patients have been failed by this approach and deaths have occurred. Many patients have sought private treatment to alleviate symptoms.

“In the fullness of time, the mainstream handling of Chronic Lyme disease will be viewed as one of the most shameful episodes in the history of medicine because elements of academic medicine, elements of government and virtually the entire insurance industry have colluded to deny a disease. This has resulted in needless suffering of many individuals who deteriorate and sometimes die for lack of timely application of treatment or denial of treatment beyond some arbitrary duration.” – Kenneth B. Liegner, M.D. in a letter to the Institute of Medicine published in “In the Crucible of Chronic Lyme Disease: Collected Writings & Associated Materials”, Oct 2015.

Recent research has proved that borrelia, the bacterium which causes Lyme Disease, is persistent and can evade antibiotics. Combinations of antibiotics have been found in-vitro to eradicate the bacteria. A combination of daptomycin, doxycycline, and ceftriaxone has been found to be most effective, both in vitro and in mice. A recent study “showed that doxycycline, a standard of care for uncomplicated acute infection, did not clear the pathogen”. Patients who have been denied more than a few weeks of a single antibiotic are calling for immediate access to more aggressive treatments.

“Lyme disease represents a growing public health threat. Recent molecular and genetic studies have confirmed that Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochetal agent of Lyme disease, is one of the most complex bacteria known to man.” – Stricker R.B., Lautin A., Burrascano J.J., 2006