[Closed] Lymmes disease vaccinne

There was some proper scare-mongering about Lyme disease on BBC Breakfast last week, so this can only be good news.

Yes, that would be good news!

Great news. My son and I were both treated with antibiotics last year for initial symptoms. Be great to get the jab and not worry whenever you get ticks.

Good news.

Lot's of media coverage about ticks / Lyme disease now

Would it not make more sense to firstly develop a test with more than 50% sensitivity?

Great news.

I've never had a flu vaccine.

Would it not make more sense to [s]firstly[/s] [b]also[/b] develop a test with more than 50% sensitivity?

FTFY

You are right though - it is a pressing issue.

I'm guessing an effective test is a lot more complicated to develop, although the fact that it wouldn't be as big an earner for the drugs company as a vaccine must be a consideration.

Either way, good news, and something I'd definitely consider getting dependant on cost/availability/side effects. Any word from the actual NHS on this?

Is this really a first? By all accounts, I can just request the vaccine over here in Sweden from my GP.

If I google "Lyme disease Sweden" this is the first hit:

https://www.iamat.org/country/sweden/risk/lyme-disease

[b]There is no preventive vaccine or medication against Lyme Disease.[/b]

This may be useful, UK Big Tick Project map:

www.bigtickproject.co.uk/ticks-in-the-uk/uk-tick-threat-map/

John Caudwell's thoughts on vaccine:

www.caudwelllyme.com/2018/06/05/my-view-on-the-development-of-a-lyme-disease-vaccine/

The map should be used to allocate the vaccine but even then for someone who never goes out of a town/city then the risk must be almost non-existent so a vaccine for very targeted uses.

I am in a very high risk area (New Forest) and don't even bother walking the dogs in a lot of areas (long grass and foliage) as I had to stop every 50 metres to pick off ticks.  Awareness is key, I have never had a tick on me in 20 years of living there.

Would it not make more sense to firstly develop a test with more than 50% sensitivity

in order to test for lymes disease you have to have something to test for.  The spirochete grows very slowly so trying to detect via cultures isn't effective and antibody tests require antibodies to be present which can take a while to show up to.  A rash isn't always present either so its a bitch to diagnose clinically as well.

There's a place for urine testing surely.

but what are you going to detect in the pee?

I was told that if you've ever had it you will always show positive in the existing tests.

A lot of false negatives in existing tests - I believe one is fairly simple but gains a lot of false negatives, one is really complex and expensive and is still not reliable

Brilliant news..

My mate Dave is a tick magnet ..cant wait to forward this on ..

A lot of false negatives in existing tests – I believe one is fairly simple but gains a lot of false negatives, one is really complex and expensive and is still not reliable

Yes, somewhat correct. Unreliable to the point at which the US state of Virginia passed a disclosure act stating as much.

The vaccine is great news, but ticks are essentially nature's dirty needles. Unfortunately, they have a multitude of infections, many of which are not understood fully – not just Lyme – many with equally inadequate testing. So a functional (and safe) vaccine against Borrelia is exciting news, but it is only the start of the solution. These "co-infections" can still be transmitted.

I read a sad and chilling insight into a patient's experience today. Not particularly uplifting, but it is a well-written and touching article: An anthropologist's view of Lyme and suicide 

Prevention is certainly better than cure.

Co-infections were not included when developing the new NICE guidelines, this was very disappointing for Lyme charities who felt they should have been.

Pleased you provided that link to a patient's experience, I read that the other day.  The public have only a basic understanding and don't realise the new guidelines are based on low quality evidence with no Lyme expertise within the NHS.

Thank you for such an informative post flipiddy.