Lyme Disease Awareness Month in Fall River: New Diagnostic Tools Are on the Horizon for Lyme Disease

Being Lyme Disease Awareness Month, we would be remiss not to discuss the complications in diagnosing and treating Lyme disease. The difficult diagnosing process is thought to be one of the main reasons so many Lyme cases lead to debilitating Chronic Lyme disease. In Fall River, Massachusetts, Lyme disease prevention is extremely important with our epidemically large population of Lyme-transmitting deer ticks. With promising advances in Lyme diagnosing and Lyme vaccination, we are hopeful that in the future we’ll have more tools for combatting Lyme disease.

Lyme Disease Diagnosing

Lyme disease symptoms are similar to symptoms of a variety of other illnesses. The distinctive “bulls-eye” rash can be hard to spot. According to the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society less than 50% of Lyme patients report having the rash.

Deer ticks are very small and secrete a bit of local anesthetic to help avoid detection during their lengthy blood meal. It is reported that less than 50% recall being bitten by a tick.

If you or your doctor happen to suspect Lyme disease, the diagnostic testing that is most commonly used is known to miss about 35% of Lyme cases. With general symptoms, lack of tick bite detection and inaccurate diagnostics, Lyme disease is often diagnosed late, if at all. Once Lyme progresses into the central nervous system, treatment is far more difficult. It is estimated that 40% of Lyme patients will experience long-term health problems related to Chronic Lyme disease.

Hope for Better Lyme Diagnostics

While science and trials take a great deal of time, there is new hope for better Lyme diagnostics. One of the big issues with Lyme is that early treatment is more successful, but during early phases of Lyme disease, there tend to be more false negatives. But there is hope. A new study has identified unique Lyme gene signatures that can be identified in Lyme patients 3 weeks earlier than current antibody response testing. While still a few years out from mainstream use, this test can also distinguish between Lyme (Borellia burgdorferi) and similar bacterial infections from B. Mayonii or B. Miyamotoi.

While we recently reported about new hope for a Lyme vaccine, both that and the new diagnostics are years away. Preventing Lyme disease in Fall River is still the best medicine. With Intensive Tick Treatment from Mosquito Squad of Fall River, you can enjoy an 85-90% reduction of ticks on your property to lower your risk for Lyme disease. Call today for a free quote.