Borrelia burgdorferi is the bacteria that causes Lyme disease but Lyme is really a combination of pathogens (bacteria, parasites, and viruses) that invade, suppress, and exhaust cellular function and mitochondria. Because it is a combination of pathogens, Lyme comes with a LONG list of crippling symptoms!

Isn’t this a rare disease?

Lyme disease is is a lot more common than you may think! It is not The CDC approximates that 30,000 cases of Lyme are reported each year with an estimated 476,000 people contracting Lyme yearly.  However, some data suggests that a more likely number is 1,000,000 cases per year. It is rarely properly diagnosed and often mistaken for other chronic illnesses such as Lupus, MS, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and fibromyalgia so there is no way of knowing exactly how many true cases there are per year.

Why is it commonly misdiagnosed?

Unlike a lot of other pathogens, Lyme is able to get into cells. Once the Lyme bacteria finds a host, it looks for a safe place to live. It finds cells to occupy where it can then replicate and hide from the immune system. This is why Lyme is so difficult to test for and diagnose. Unless the Lyme infection is active outside of the cells where the immune system can identify it, it will not show up on the standard Lyme blood testing because it hides inside the cell. Because it is so difficult to officially diagnose, it is known as “the great imitator” because its long list of symptoms mimics many other chronic illnesses.

But I have never been bitten by a tick…

Contrary to this common belief, Lyme can be contracted not only from ticks, but other biting insects like fleas, flies, mosquitoes, and spiders. Other animals can carry the infection too like birds, rodents, deer, cows, horses, and dogs. And just because you didn’t get the infamous bullseye rash, does not mean you did not contracted the bacteria!

Mothers can also pass on the bacteria to their babies, either while in the womb or from breastfeeding. Because Lyme can live in bodily fluids, it can also be transmitted through blood.

Lyme can also be transmitted sexually. Studies have identified that couples can test positive for the exact same strain of Lyme.

But I don’t live in a place that has Lyme disease…

Another misconception is that Lyme disease is only found in specific areas of the world. This might have been the case in the past, but now Lyme is found everywhere. It’s believed that migratory birds have spread the bacteria to every corner of the world. Even penguins in Antarctica have been found to carry Lyme!