Among tick borne diseases, the one received the most attention is Lyme disease, which was discovered in the 1980s among a group of children in Lyme, CT suffering arthritis.
Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium, spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi which is transmitted by deer tick. In the Eastern US, Ixodes scapularis is the main vector.
According to the Newsweek, CT attorney general Richard Blumenthal has launched an investigation into the panel of Infectious Disease Society of America. The panel produced in 2006 guidelines on Lyme disease. The point of contention is that whether the guidelines were generated when certain research results were ignored. Due to the difficulties in diagnosing Lyme disease, it has been very difficult to differentiate whether patients were suffering post-Lyme disorder (i.e., not directly related to the pathogen) or chronic Lyme. The definition has important public health and treatment implications. Should patients be continuously treated with antibiotics?
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