As a follow-up to the previous petition update here is a second email to Dr. Aucott regarding his recent misleading study. Anyone wishing to contact the Lyme Disease Working Group can send an email to: tickbornedisease@hhs.gov ---------- Original Message ---------- From: Carl Tuttle To: jaucott2@jhmi.edu, olx1@cdc.gov, tickbornedisease@hhs.gov, kbechto1@jhmi.edu Cc: mark.dayton@state.mn.us, daniel.tillson@mail.house.gov, kvf1@comcast.net, iturko@umd.edu, allen.l.richards.civ@mail.mil, richard.wolitski@hhs.gov, scott.cooper@cms.hhs.gov, khoney@stanford.edu, ddutko@hanszenlaporte.com, kalachakra108@aol.com, chris.smith@mail.house.gov, adam.durand@mail.house.gov, info@smith4nj.com, marisa.kovacs@mail.house.gov, ddiallo@sisterlove.org, tamir.elnabarawy@mail.house.gov, matt.hadro@mail.house.gov, collin.peterson@mail.house.gov, cbb0@cdc.gov, smithr@mmc.org, dennis.dixon1@nih.hhs.gov, estella.jones@fda.hhs.gov, mary.noonan@mail.house.gov, james.berger@hhs.gov, vanila.singh@hhs.gov, lise.nigrovic@childrens.harvard.edu, sdonta@comcast.net, wendyadams1@gmail.com, ptourad1@jhmi.edu, don.wright@hhs.gov Date: July 15, 2018 at 8:36 AM Subject: Re: Cognitive Decline in Post-treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome Dr Aucott, You have not responded to the question I presented on June 29th regarding your recent published study associating Lyme with just some “mild cognitive decline” while excluding the sickest of the Lyme population who went months, years or decades untreated. Here is the question you refuse to answer: “What is the motivation for downplaying the severity of Lyme disease Dr. Aucott?” Did you intentionally omit the following cases? 1. Dr. Neil Spector required a heart transplant after his Lyme disease went untreated for four years….. What It’s Like to Have Severe Lyme Disease https://www.thecut.com/2015/06/what-its-like-to-have-severe-lyme-disease.html 2. Fifth-grade teacher Kelly Downing was paralyzed from the neck down and interviewed by Katie Couric….. Nashua Mom in the 'Lyme Light' on Katie Couric Show http://patch.com/new-hampshire/nashua/nashua-mom-talks-chronic-lyme-on-katie-couric-show 3. The destructive nature of Borrelia is evident in Vicky Logan’s liver (nutmeg liver), kidneys, heart, lungs and brain. The patient died after the insurer refused additional IV antibiotic therapy. Vicky Logan’s Autopsy results Page #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 1 https://www.dropbox.com/s/5ykib95sfp66adb/Logan%20Autopsy%201.JPG?dl=0 2 https://www.dropbox.com/s/lysfqd3vjc63bkl/Logan%20Autopsy%202.JPG?dl=0 3 https://www.dropbox.com/s/zq7kj953f7mejkn/Logan%20Autopsy%203.JPG?dl=0 4 https://www.dropbox.com/s/uqkgxynm5bn88jg/Logan%20Autopsy%204.JPG?dl=0 5 https://www.dropbox.com/s/id8bbppoiscxuiq/Logan%20Autopsy%205.JPG?dl=0 6 https://www.dropbox.com/s/mnms2un02g19kg7/Logan%20Autopsy%206.JPG?dl=0 7 https://www.dropbox.com/s/nfvqbidao16yynf/Logan%20Autopsy%207.JPG?dl=0 4. CDC Case Study #1: Three Sudden Cardiac Deaths Associated with Lyme Carditis: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6249a1.htm?s_cid=mm6249a1_w 5. CDC Case Study #2: A case report of a 17-year old male with fatal Lyme carditis http://www.cardiovascularpathology.com/article/S1054-8807(15)00025-3/abstract?rss=yes 6. NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A 12-year-old girl who has been confined to a wheelchair since being diagnosed with Lyme disease said meeting Pope Francis as he arrived in New York Thursday was “the most precious moment of my life.” Wheelchair-Bound Girl Calls Blessing By Pope Francis ‘Most Precious Moment Of My Life’ http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/09/24/pope-francis-blesses-girl-in-wheelchair/ 7. Cardiac Tropism of Borrelia burgdorferi: An Autopsy Study of Sudden Cardiac Death Associated with Lyme Carditis. (March 2016) http://ajp.amjpathol.org/article/S0002-9440(16)00099-7/abstract Excerpt: “Fatal Lyme carditis caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi rarely is identified. Here, we describe the pathologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular findings of five case patients.” ________________________ Dr. Aucott, Your published study is the equivalent to ignoring the fact that untreated strep throat progresses to rheumatic fever which as we all know causes irreversible heart damage. I’m sorry to say that you have turned out to be a major disappointment as the Chair of the TBDWG because your study only perpetuates the thirty year disinformation regarding the severity of Lyme disease. We need curative treatment options now; not additional denial of the life-altering/life-threatening late stages of Lyme disease. Carl Tuttle Lyme Endemic Hudson, NH Lyme Disease: Call for a “Manhattan Project” to Combat the Epidemic Raphael B. Stricker, Lorraine Johnson Published: January 02, 2014DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.100379 http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.ppat.1003796 Cc: Daniel R. Dutko, HANSZEN LAPORTE