(No Subject)

And, their number 1 panelist is (drum roll please): "Paul G. Auwaerter, MD, representing IDSA"

Gee what a surprise Not!! Mr Auwaerter is THE biggest anti-chronic Lyme activist there is. Yes, I said that right, the biggest anti-chronic Lyme activist, as he is the lead IDSA doc against the belief that chronic Lyme exists, and has financial ties to his beliefs:
"Professor of Medicine, John Hopkins University School of Medicine; Clinical Director, Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland

Paul G. Auwaerter, MD, has disclosed the following relevant financial relationships:
Served as a director, officer, partner, employee, advisor, consultant, or trustee for: Infectious Diseases Society of America (volunteer) Board of Directors; US Food and Drug Administration
Received a research grant from: Cerexa
Received income in an amount equal to or greater than $250 from: Medicolegal expert (various)"
www.medscape.com/public/bios/ed-id



And why can he be so dangerous to those of us with these infections who are fighting for the rightful treatments we need/deserve? :

Editorial Activities
(ad hoc reviewer)
American Family Physician
American Journal of Managed Care
American Journal of Medical Sciences
American
Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
British Medical Journal
Clinical Infectious Diseases
Emerging Infectious Diseases
European Journal of Internal Medicine
IDSA Guideline Reviews
International Journal of STD & AIDS
Journal of the American Family
Physician
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
Journal of General Internal Medicine
Journal of Infectious Diseases
Journal of the Physician and Sports Medicine
Lancet
Medicine
Medical Principles and Practice
New England Journal of Medicine
Science Translational Medicine
World Journal of Pediatrics

www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/Drugs/Anti-InfectiveDrugsAdvisoryCommittee/UCM246752.pdf

And here's how he really feels about us (along with a handful of others that co-authored this paper, but notice who's name appears first - but don't miss that last name either - I underlined them & specific parts of the abstract for you.)


Paul G Auwaerter, MD, Johan S Bakken, MD, PhD, Prof Raymond J Dattwyler, MD, Prof J Stephen Dumler, MD, Prof John J Halperin, MD, Edward McSweegan, MD, Prof Robert B Nadelman, MD, Susan O’Connell, MD, Prof Eugene D Shapiro, MD, Prof Sunil K Sood, MD, Prof Allen C Steere, MD, Prof Arthur Weinstein, MD, and Prof Gary P Wormser, MD

"Advocacy for Lyme disease has become an increasingly important part of an antiscience movement that denies both the viral cause of AIDS and the benefits of vaccines and that supports unproven (sometimes dangerous) alternative medical treatments. Some activists portray Lyme disease, a geographically limited tick-borne infection, as a disease that is insidious, ubiquitous, difficult to diagnose, and almost incurable; they also propose that the disease causes mainly non-specific symptoms that can be treated only with long-term antibiotics and other unorthodox and unvalidated treatments. Similar to other antiscience groups, these advocates have created a pseudoscientific and alternative selection of practitioners, research, and publications and have coordinated public protests, accused opponents of both corruption and conspiracy, and spurred legislative efforts to subvert evidence-based medicine and peer-reviewed science. The relations and actions of some activists, medical practitioners, and commercial bodies involved in Lyme disease advocacy pose a threat to public health."

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4489928/

And that, my friends, explains why we get nowhere talking to our doctors if they aren't already on board with the very scientific understanding of these infections.

As a reminder, here are some very well respected journals that have published these articles, claiming something VERY different:

ILADS vs IDSA:

www.clinicaladvisor.com/controversy-continues-to-fuel-the-lyme-war/article/117160/


archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=226373


www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2901226/

I think it brings public awareness. The more public awareness we can create means that we have not only more people outraged as they learn more, but more people educated about the dangers and seeking out alternative opinions about symptoms they may be having.

I'm not able to travel far from where I live due to a number of reasons, so I don't go to those events because my state (Arkansas) has it's head in the sand about the whole thing still.

Oh...and thank you Elena for the link. We need to stay as informed as possible.

Cat53 said...
Excellent post Trav....one of the best I have read. If it's okay, I would love to paraphrase a lot of what you had to say plus use the quote by Paul G Auwaerter, MD and his cohorts and send to family and friends. it's too bad you couldn't travel the country and speak as an advocate....you would be fantastic!

Ha ha ha!! I'm home now and I think I would like it to stay that way!! LOL! I traveled around the Midwest and Western states with hubby for his work. It was a blast, but exhausting since I was sick during that time. And I sound a lot better on paper than I do in real life, I'm afraid! But thank you for your kind words, my friend.

Please feel free to copy and paste and paraphrase anything that I put up here!! My hope is to spread accurate information!! I surely don't need to be the only mouth piece!!! We need as many people as possible spreading the correct information!!

To be honest, Auwaeter and Wormser are scary - they way they can twist around those scientific facts and make them sound so good? Yeah, we need all the help we can get!!

Trav-What is the CDC link that states LD should be a clinical eval?

Thank you, Trav!

I would only hope that the event has a big advocate like Trav in attendance & that the media is invited to cover & not ignore.

Per the powers that be (hypocritically ignored & ailing patients further traumatized):

"Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings (e.g., rash), and the possibility of exposure to infected ticks. Laboratory testing is helpful..."