Great question, great responses!
Just wanted to add one thing:
As was already stated, the labs show immune responses to bands (often DNA parts of Bb) that would not be there if your body did not find the DNA to react to. Kinda like the proteins a woman's body creates when she's pregnant--can't be "sorta" pregnant.
"False positive" is a term used in the
interpretation of these tests. Decades ago, IDSA-associated "experts" informed the CDC how these band reactions should be interpreted and they determined a certain number of positive band reactions and a certain combination of bands are required in order to be an absolutely positive result.
I've read from multiple sources that this formula was created because one or two specific vaccines were developed in the 80s/90s that included Bb DNA that the Western Blot tests also included, therefore people who had been vaccinated developed an antibody that the test would pick up.
As a side note, the vaccines were not successful - mainly because the research showed too many people had horrible reactions to them (I have my own theory on that). But another interesting development that showed up in the documentary "Under Our Skin" was that specific IDSA board members are also holders of those vaccine patents...
The other reason the CDC's interpretation of lab results requires multiple, specific bands is the understanding that there is an antibody response to some dental material that could also be picked up by the test.
Unfortunately, the CDC has mostly relied upon only the IDSA data for their information and as most of us here know, the IDSA has been fighting ANY advancement of lyme information for a very long time. In recent years, the CDC has also accepted updated information and has formally communicated that
a) due to the inaccuracies of these tests and the issues people have getting diagnosed that the actual number of lyme cases is probably 10 times more than reported (they updated the previous "30,000" new cases/yr to "300,000" in 2013; and
b) while the CDC remains very specific about
the diagnostic protocol that should be used (the two-tiered testing approach--ELISA first and only if it shows a positive reaction should a WB test be administered--which we all know is bogus and a main reason why the actual cases are drastically fewer than reported!), the CDC does state that a clinical diagnosis in conjunction w/ tests is recommended.
Also,, the IDSA Lyme treatment guidelines were removed from the National Guidelines Clearinghouse in February because they did not comply with federally determined NGC standards; at the same time, the International Lyme and Associated Diseases guidelines remain in the Clearinghouse unchallenged: https://www.lymedisease.org/idsa-guidelines-removed-ngc/
-p
Post Edited (Pirouette) : 4/9/2016 10:42:37 AM (GMT-6)