Please see the following letter sent to the Tick Borne Disease Working Group announcing additional recent evidence of chronic Lyme disease. Email address for CDC Director Robert Redfield MD: olx1@cdc.gov Anyone wishing to contact the Lyme Disease Working Group can send an email to: tickbornedisease@hhs.gov ---------- Original Message ---------- From: Carl Tuttle To: tickbornedisease@hhs.gov, olx1@cdc.gov Cc: Date: April 20, 2018 at 7:17 AM Subject: Persistent Borrelia Infection in Patients with Ongoing Symptoms of Lyme Disease (Published Apr 14, 2018) To the Tick Borne Disease Working Group, Please see the latest study published six days ago identifying persistent infection after antibiotic treatment of Lyme disease. Will the Centers for Disease Control bury this evidence as they did twenty-seven years ago in the Vicki Logan case as identified in the attached letter to previous CDC Director, Barbara Fitzgerald? Letter to Fitzgerald: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xaul84dqmqgbre0/Brenda%20Fitzgerald%20MD%20Director%20CDC.docx?dl=0 Perhaps Ben Beard can address this evidence of chronic Lyme with the TBD Working Group. Carl Tuttle Lyme Endemic Hudson, NH Cc: Robert Redfield MD, Director of the CDC _____________________________________ Persistent Borrelia Infection in Patients with Ongoing Symptoms of Lyme Disease http://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/6/2/33 Marianne J. Middelveen 1, Eva Sapi 2 ID , Jennie Burke 3, Katherine R. Filush 2, Agustin Franco 4, Melissa C. Fesler 5 and Raphael B. Stricker 5,* ID 1 Atkins Veterinary Services, Calgary, AB T3B 4C9, Canada; middel@telus.net 2 Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of New Haven, West Haven, CT 06516, USA; unh@evasapi.net (E.S.); katherine.r.filush@gmail.com (K.R.F.) 3 Australian Biologics, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia; Jennie.burke@australianbiologics.com.au 4 School of Health Sciences, Universidad Catolica Santiago de Guayaquil, Guayaquil 090615, Ecuador; agustin.franco@optusnet.com.au 5 Union Square Medical Associates, 450 Sutter Street, Suite 1504, San Francisco, CA 94108, USA; melissacfesler@gmail.com * Correspondence: rstricker@usmamed.com Received: 7 March 2018; Accepted: 11 April 2018; Published: 14 April 2018 _______ Abstract: Introduction: Lyme disease is a tickborne illness that generates controversy among medical providers and researchers. One of the key topics of debate is the existence of persistent infection with the Lyme spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, in patients who have been treated with recommended doses of antibiotics yet remain symptomatic. Persistent spirochetal infection despite antibiotic therapy has recently been demonstrated in non-human primates. We present evidence of persistent Borrelia infection despite antibiotic therapy in patients with ongoing Lyme disease symptoms. Methods: In this pilot study, culture of body fluids and tissues was performed in a randomly selected group of 12 patients with persistent Lyme disease symptoms who had been treated or who were being treated with antibiotics. Cultures were also performed on a group of ten control subjects without Lyme disease. The cultures were subjected to corroborative microscopic, histopathological and molecular testing for Borrelia organisms in four independent laboratories in a blinded manner. Results: Motile spirochetes identified histopathologically as Borrelia were detected in culture specimens, and these spirochetes were genetically identified as Borrelia burgdorferi by three distinct polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based approaches. Spirochetes identified as Borrelia burgdorferi were cultured from the blood of seven subjects, from the genital secretions of ten subjects, and from a skin lesion of one subject. Cultures from control subjects without Lyme disease were negative for Borrelia using these methods. Conclusions: Using multiple corroborative detection methods, we showed that patients with persistent Lyme disease symptoms may have ongoing spirochetal infection despite antibiotic treatment, similar to findings in non-human primates. The optimal treatment for persistent Borrelia infection remains to be determined.