The following email was sent to Mark Klempner with Cc: to the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group. Feel free to leave your comment on "The Conversation" article listed below. Until chronic Lyme is recognized and fully addressed I remain skeptical of any vaccine or individual looking to profit from the mishandling of this disease.
---------- Original Message ----------
From: CARL TUTTLE <runagain@comcast.net>
To: "mark.klempner@umassmed.edu" <mark.klempner@umassmed.edu>, "tickbornedisease@hhs.gov" <tickbornedisease@hhs.gov>
Cc: (98 Undisclosed recipients)
Date: 06/27/2020 9:01 AM
Subject: A Lyme disease vaccine doesn’t exist, but a yearly antibody shot shows promise at preventing infection
June 27, 2020
University of Massachusetts Medical School
55 Lake Avenue North
Worcester, Massachusetts 01655
Attn: Mark S. Klempner, MD, Executive Vice Chancellor, MassBiologics
Dr. Klempner,
Perhaps you would be kind enough to answer the highlighted question I presented below in a comment left in response to the Lyme disease vaccine article published in The Conversation.
Please hit reply-all as I am sure the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group is interested in your response.
Sincerely,
Carl Tuttle
Hudson, NH
Cc: Beth Daley, Editor and General Manager
The Conversation
A Lyme disease vaccine doesn’t exist, but a yearly antibody shot shows promise at preventing infection
Carl Tuttle’s comment:
Dr. Klempner,
In reference to the following statement from your article:
"For the phase 1 trial we want to avoid testing the Lyme PrEP antibody on volunteers who may have already been exposed to the Lyme bacteria and have developed responses to the bacteria that could confuse the results. For that reason, initial testing will take place in volunteers who have not been exposed to Lyme disease."
Have your clinical studies identified adverse reactions when Lyme PrEP is administered to an individual with active Lyme disease? All Tuttle family members advanced to late stage Lyme disease before we knew what had gone wrong with our health and none of us met the CDC’s strict criteria for positive test results. The only FDA approved two-tier serology test is useless for 4-6 weeks after a tick bite because it takes that long for humans to develop antibodies against the spirochete responsible for Lyme disease.
So how do you plan to rule out active infection (before injection) if we don’t have an accurate and early direct detection test for Lyme disease? Our family’s experience is not unique as most Lyme patients who have become disabled by the infection went months, years or decades before diagnosis.
Until this scenario is recognized and fully addressed don’t expect overwhelming reception for your Lyme PrEP until we know who has or doesn’t have active Lyme disease.
Respectfully Submitted,
Carl Tuttle
Lyme Endemic Hudson, NH
The previous petition update was included in this email to Klempner:
Govt Agencies Deny Persistent Lyme at WG
https://www.change.org/p/the-us-senate-calling-for-a-congressional-investigation-of-the-cdc-idsa-and-aldf/u/27071676