Myths and facts about Lyme disease

Cleve Clin J Med. 1997 Apr;64(4):203-9. doi: 10.3949/ccjm.64.4.203.

Abstract

Lyme disease has taken hold in the imagination of the general public and physicians alike. Although the disease is real, the diagnosis is often false. Patients demanding an explanation for feeling out of sorts, and physicians too willing to oblige them with improper use of serologic tests and useless therapies both foster a mythology that conscientious physicians should try to combat. This article debunks the myths and presents the facts.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / blood
  • Borrelia burgdorferi Group / isolation & purification
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Diagnostic Errors
  • Humans
  • Ixodes / microbiology
  • Lyme Disease* / diagnosis
  • Lyme Disease* / drug therapy

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Antibodies, Bacterial