Chronic Lyme and other tick-borne diseases continue to disable thousands of people every day. With over 300,000 new cases of Lyme disease occurring each year, and 10-20% of those causing ongoing illness according to the CDC, it’s well past time to look at published, peer reviewed articles demonstrating refractory Lyme disease despite “adequate” antibiotic treatment.
There are now more than 100 of such articles worldwide, as Lyme disease is truly pandemic. I implore doctors Zemel and Auwaerter to expanded their foci of research articles beyond the few they cite, which were poorly designed and in some cases ended early due to poor patient participation rates as well as patient drop out. After all, who would want to continue in a study where treatment is not given to a control group of infected patients?
I have had the unfortunate circumstances of contacting Lyme and several other tick-borne diseases on a least three separate occasions since 1992. These were laboratory confirmed and took well beyond standard dosage and treatment duration to render “cured.” At one point a sample of my blood was sent to world reknowned researcher, immunologist, microbiologist, bacteriologist, virologist and pathologist, the late Dr. Lida Mattman, whereby identifiable B burgdorferi were cultured and photographed using electron microscopy. This was after more than four years of antibiotic therapy, including IV Ceftriaxone.
I still have those photographs. Interestingly, one of the IDSA members who first tried to diagnose me in 1993 at New Britain General Hospital suggested I had HIV, despite a monogamous lifestyle and negative test. She was so sure of herself that she had the HIV test repeated, yielding the same negative test result. After more than a year of undiagnosed, torturous symptoms and weight loss from 170 lbs. to 135 lbs. I was diagnosed with Lyme disease and Anaplasmosis, and later with Babesiosis. Again, all were laboratory confirmed.
Some years ago, Lyme disease patient Randy Sykes and I posted a $20,000 reward to any physician who could undeniably prove that the Lyme disease spirochete is fully eradicated in the human body in all cases after six weeks of any antibiotic. We had no takers. I’m still willing to give that money — I’ll even up it to $25,000 — if there’s proof. But there isn’t. It doesn’t exist.
Thus I am now offering a reward of $25,000 to Dr. Zemel et al to prove the Borrelia burgdorferi are completely eradicated from the human body in all cases with up to six weeks of currently used antibiotics. Put up or shut up.
Christopher Montes lives in Farmington.
Thank you Christopher Montes for raising awarenesss, not only of Lyme and tick borne diseases, and arrogant doctors who refuse to learn enough to be able to diagnose and treat patients properly, but about the individuals directly responsible for ruining so many lives by publishing garbage to try to support their self-serving opinions. Shame on Zemel- who once offered to train health department staff to pretend they were sick Lyme patients so they could try to “catch” doctors who treated patients who remained ill after the standard therapy the infectious diseaes doctors recommended, failed. And shame on Auwaerter who has bullied, belittled and talked trash about sick Lyme patients and doctors who treat them.
Great idea. Let’s see them prove it. Like you said. They won’t be able to! Time for change. Too many have spent years or decades suffering with this horrible disease
.
There are 2 recent technologies to impede the pestilence of ticks. One involves baiting, trapping, & sterilization of male ticks. This is currently being employed with the tiger mosquito. Why not adapt it? Necessity is the mother of invention. Youtube has this video. Also some years ago the New Yorker magazine did a story on a VMI professor who invented something called the tick robot which hovers over the ground sucking up ticks.
What a great idea. This warms my heart. Too many people have suffered because of these close-minded arrogant doctors. Don’t even get me started on the CDC. It’s truly criminal that they get by with their behaviors. They would think differently if they were the one fighting Lyme, Babesia, etc… Thank you for doing this.