Integrative Health Blog

 

 

New Clarification for Virginia Patients on the Accuracy of Lyme Disease Testing

From the Lyme Disease.org  website:

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell today signed into a law the Lyme Disease Testing Information Disclosure Act. Under the new legislation, patients being tested for Lyme disease must be officially informed that a negative test result does not mean they don't have Lyme disease.

 

Virginia law now requires this notification be given to people being tested for Lyme disease:

 

"ACCORDING TO THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, AS OF 2011 LYME DISEASE IS THE SIXTH FASTEST GROWING DISEASE IN THE UNITED STATES.

 

YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER HAS ORDERED A LABORATORY TEST FOR THE PRESENCE OF LYME DISEASE FOR YOU. CURRENT LABORATORY TESTING FOR LYME DISEASE CAN BE PROBLEMATIC AND STANDARD LABORATORY TESTS OFTEN RESULT IN FALSE NEGATIVE AND FALSE POSITIVE RESULTS, AND IF DONE TOO EARLY, YOU MAY NOT HAVE PRODUCED ENOUGH ANTIBODIES TO BE CONSIDERED POSITIVE BECAUSE YOUR IMMUNE RESPONSE REQUIRES TIME TO DEVELOP ANTIBODIES. IF YOU ARE TESTED FOR LYME DISEASE, AND THE RESULTS ARE NEGATIVE, THIS DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN YOU DO NOT HAVE LYME DISEASE. IF YOU CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE SYMPTOMS, YOU SHOULD CONTACT YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER AND INQUIRE ABOUT THE APPROPRIATENESS OF RETESTING OR ADDITIONAL TREATMENT."

 

Thank you Virginia!!!  Thank you to Delegate Barbara Comstock for sponsoring the bill, the National Capital Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Association, and all those who supported the bill.

We see in our Integrative Medical Center that Lyme disease can be a devastating disease. A person with Lyme disease may be co-infected with other organisms and “co-infections” often require different antibiotic therapy compared to Lyme Disease. Testing may need to be repeated or additional testing for Lyme disease co-infections may be required in order to make a proper diagnosis and treatment.

Proper diagnosis and testing and an individual treatment approach for Lyme disease is necessary based on clinical judgment. Please follow the guidelines above and if symptoms persist or if you notice new symptoms, please contact your doctor.

See a list of Lyme Disease Symptoms

Lyme Disease Prevention Tips

National Integrated Health Associates, NIHA is a leading integrative medical and dental center serving the Washington DC, Maryland and Virginian metropolitan area. See Lyme Disease and Insect-borne Illness for more information on integrative medical treatment of Lyme Disease and co-infections by Lyme-literate physicians.