Did Lymerix actually create a clinic situation like many post-treatment lyme people where the antibody response to the bacteria (even in the absence of any live bacteria) elicits symptoms?
I didn't read in detail, but it seemed that up to 30% of people who got the vaccine developed joint pain and other suspiciously lyme-like symptoms.
So, if so, does that support the notion that some chronic lyme symptoms have more to do with the specific immune response to the bacteria?
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
As far as I understood, it GAVE MANY PATIENTS LYME DISEASE. There were over a 1000 lawsuits on it.
Don't EVER let anyone give you a vaccine for Lyme.
Posted by ohioperson22 (Member # 47837) on :
It looks like the vaccine used the OspA protein, made by recombinant E coli...
So no spirochetes in the vaccine.
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
The person's immune system may have been keeping the lyme bacteria in check, but when they got the vaccine, the vaccine itself upset this and caused the lyme infection to predominate.
That is why you don't want to be the guinea pig for any lyme vaccine. You never know if your body is already nicely dealing with the lyme bacteria, so you are healthy. Then, you get the vaccine and all of a sudden, you have many lyme symptoms.
There are likely many people who have lyme disease bacteria in their bodies but are totally healthy. (Think of all of the hunters who go out in the woods, wetlands, etc. all the time.) That is why pediatric lyme specialists will NOT treat a child who tests positive for lyme but has no symptoms. They say, "Let well enough alone."
One such doc I know says that she wants to let the child's immune system deal with the lyme and hopefully overcome it. She will only treat a child for lyme if they have symptoms regardless of the positive lyme test they have.
"The severity of the clinical illness is directly proportional to the spirochete load. . ." (p. 4 Burrascano)
Posted by TX Lyme Mom (Member # 3162) on :
Also, there is a genetic component involved in the development of Lyme arthritis, for example. Dr. Allen Steere published several papers about it. Here's one such example: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16585267