I had high hopes when I learned that the CDC was planning a webinar for physicians, to teach them the latest research data on Lyme disease. Imagine my disappointment when the information all turned out to be a rehash of the same old information our patients have been given all along. The places in the world where one can become infected (CDC says only in Lyme endemic areas), how long the ticks have to be attached for transmission of infection to occur (CDC says 36 hours), what the initial Lyme rash looks like (CDC only talks about the target lesion of erythema multiforme), what kind of testing should be used for diagnosis (CDC continues to say two-tiered testing), what kind of treatment is adequate, how much antibiotic therapy is helpful for long-term symptoms.
The President of the Lyme Disease Association wrote an excellent blog piece that details the inadequacies of the CDC instruction to physicians in the webinar. You can read more on their publication here.
For more recent and evidence-based information about Lyme disease and co-infections, click here.
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