CRANBURY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In recognition of Lyme disease awareness month, Contagion®, the nation’s leading digital and print publication that provides practitioners and specialists working in the infectious disease field with disease-specific information, interviewed Pat Smith, president of Lyme Disease Association, Inc, to better understand current issues surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease.
Recent studies have shown that tick-borne disease (TBD)-related cases have tripled since 1992; however, it has become more difficult to recognize the disease. During the interview, Pat Smith said, “Even 43 years into Lyme disease, there’s still a lot of problems with recognizing Lyme disease.”
Smith continued by explaining the accuracy of the Lyme disease test, “The testing is probably about 50 percent accurate (the test that’s being used now, the two-step test).”
While discussing the diagnosis process, Smith stated, “Physicians aren’t always diagnosing Lyme, and so, patients can’t get diagnosed easily or in a timely manner.” She added, “If it takes a long time for diagnosis, then it takes a longer time for a patient to get treatment. In the meantime, the bacteria are in their body replicating. Therefore, this is very problematic.” Smith addresses the current issues concerning the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease even further in a commentary published on the Contagion® website: http://www.contagionlive.com/news/is-the-medical-community-behind-the-times-when-it-comes-to-treating-lyme.
To view the interview featuring Pat Smith, please visit contagionlive.com/link/4
About Contagion®
Contagion® is a fully integrated news resource covering all areas of infectious disease. Through our website, quarterly journal, email newsletters, social media outlets and Outbreak Monitor, we provide practitioners and specialists with disease-specific information designed to improve patient outcomes and assist with the identification, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. Our mission is to assure that the health care community and public have the knowledge to make more informed choices and have a positive impact on patient outcomes.
