The following letter was mailed directly to Robert N. Brisco, Chief Executive Officer of WebMD, parent company of Medscape and forwarded to the editors of Medscape via email.
There was no response whatsoever from Medscape. Go figure!
If you are as outraged as I am over the continued collusion to deny chronic Lyme disease why not voice your opinion to the Medscape editors: editor2@webmd.net
---------- Original Message ----------
From: CARL TUTTLE <runagain@comcast.net>
To: "brisco@webmd.net" <brisco@webmd.net>, "editor2@webmd.net" <editor2@webmd.net>
Cc: "tflanigan@lifespan.org" <tflanigan@lifespan.org>, "info@tarahaelle.net" <info@tarahaelle.net>, "news@medscape.net" <news@medscape.net>, "newstip@webmd.net" <newstip@webmd.net>, "webmdmagazineeditors@webmd.net" <webmdmagazineeditors@webmd.net>, "mleary@bhs1.org" <mleary@bhs1.org>, "lsigal@bhs1.org" <lsigal@bhs1.org>, "daniel.mcQuillen@lahey.org" <daniel.mcQuillen@lahey.org>, "raymond_dattwyler@nymc.edu" <raymond_dattwyler@nymc.edu>
Date: 11/01/2021 10:35 AM
Subject: Medscape: Judge Dismisses Lyme Disease Lawsuit Against IDSA, Doctors, but the Ordeal Has Left Its Scars
MEDSCAPE MEDICAL NEWS
Judge Dismisses Lyme Disease Lawsuit Against IDSA, Doctors, but the Ordeal Has Left Its Scars
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/961484
Tara Haelle October 25, 2021
Excerpt:
“The cause of PTLDS [chronic Lyme] is still under investigation, and the evidence does not support the idea of a persistent bacterial infection.”
Nov 1, 2021
WebMD
395 Hudson Street 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10014
Attn: Robert N. Brisco, Chief Executive Officer
Dear Mr. Brisco,
In reference to the recent Medscape article above I would like to call attention to the following letter addressed to Brenda Fitzgerald, MD former Director of the CDC. As you know, culture is the diagnostic gold standard for many bacterial infections but there appears to be a double standard in the case of Lyme disease especially when it threatens a thirty-year narrative.
Postmortem examination to discover the cause of death also appears to have been thrown out the window when Lyme disease is involved.
Seronegative Lyme in which no one will test positive using the current twenty-five-year-old two-tier testing algorithm has been suppressed for decades.
And you wonder why patients have filed a lawsuit against the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)?
What are the chances that the information/references in my 2017 letter below addressed to Dr. Fitzgerald will find its way into a Medscape article?
For the record, there was no response from Fitzgerald, Redfield or current CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD.
Respectfully submitted,
Carl Tuttle
Hudson, NH
Cc: Tara Haelle, Independent science/health journalist
Timothy Flanigan, MD Professor, Brown University
Leonard Sigal, MD, Berkshire Medical Center
Daniel McQuillen, MD, President of IDSA
Raymond J. Dattwyler, MD, Professor New York Medical College
Letter to Brenda Fitzgerald, MD Director US Centers for Disease Control:
---------- Original Message ----------
From: Carl Tuttle <runagain@comcast.net>
To: brendafitzgerald@cdc.gov
Date: 08/29/2017 8:50 AM
Subject: Your role as the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Aug 29, 2017
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30329
Attn: Brenda Fitzgerald, MD Director
Dear Dr. Fitzgerald,
Untreated strep throat leads to rheumatic fever which can cause irreversible heart damage but rapid culture tests for strep available in the primary care setting has virtually eliminated rheumatic fever and the life-threatening complications associated with that disease.
Misdiagnosed and untreated Lyme disease creates the same life-altering/life-threatening consequences but this has been hidden from the worldwide medical community and general population. Just ask Duke University Professor Neil Spector who required a heart transplant after his Lyme infection went four years untreated. Spector’s laboratory tests (serology) were repeatedly negative. Faulty/misleading antibody tests are the root cause of unimaginable pain and suffering.
Lyme disease is capable of producing sudden death with no warning signs; [1,2,3,] heart damage requiring transplant, [4] paralysis with seizures, [5] lymphoma [6] and persistent infection after antibiotic treatment [7, 8,9,10,11] along with congenital transmission [12] and ability to create wheelchair bound patients [13]. The last time we recognized a disease with this potential to cause serious harm, (Zika) the CDC wanted 1.8 billion for research. [14]
Quote from Senator Richard Blumenthal:
"Today for me culminates more than a decade of work and probably a decade more, because I've seen firsthand the devastating, absolutely unacceptable damage done by Lyme disease to individual human beings, Connecticut children and residents whose lives have been changed forever as a result of Lyme disease”
Source: http://ctmirror.org/2011/07/18/blumenthal-takes-lyme-disease-fight-senate/
In regards to laboratory testing (culture), please see the following quote from Dr. Kenneth Liegner:
“In 1991 the Lyme disease organism, Borrelia burgdorferi, was grown from the cerebrospinal fluid of my patient Vicki Logan at the Centers for Disease Control in Fort Collins, Colorado despite prior treatment with intravenous antibiotics. Her case made the front page of the New York Times Science Times in August of 1993.” -Kenneth Liegner, MD
Source: http://cognitiveliberty.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/David-Dennis.pdf
Vicki Logan’s CDC Fort Collins Positive CSF Culture Report: (My personal Dropbox account)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vthfdpn7gv8bne2/Logan%20CDC%20Fort%20Collins%20Positive%20CSF%20%20Culture%20Report.JPG?dl=0
Lyme patient Vicki Logan’s 1991 positive culture test performed by the Centers for Disease Control should have set off a red flag but was ignored while the focus remained on discrediting the sick and disabled Lyme patient population. [15]
Here are links to the seven page autopsy results of patient Vicky Logan showing histopathologic findings consistent with neurologic manifestations of chronic Lyme disease.
(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
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.
I would like to point out the following case study from Stony Brook Lyme clinic. I understand the patient received thirteen spinal taps, multiple courses of IV and oral meds, and relapsed after each one, proven by CSF antigens and/or PCR. The only way this patient (said to be a physician) remained in remission was to keep her on open ended clarithromycin- was on it for 22 months by the time of publication.
Seronegative Chronic Relapsing Neuroborreliosis.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7796837
Lawrence C.a · Lipton R.B.b · Lowy F.D.c · Coyle P.K.d
aDepartment of Medicine, bDepartment of Neurology, and cDivision of Infectious Diseases, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and dDepartment of Neurology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, New York, NY., USA
Eur Neurol 1995; 35:113–117 (DOI:10.1159/000117104)
Abstract
We report an unusual patient with evidence of Borrelia burgdorferi infection who experienced repeated neurologic relapses despite aggressive antibiotic therapy. Each course of therapy was associated with a Jarisch-Herxheimer-like reaction. Although the patient never had detectable free antibodies to B. burgdorferi in serum or spinal fluid, the CSF was positive on multiple occasions for complexed anti-B. burgdorferi antibodies, B. burgdorferi nucleic acids and free antigen.
________________________
For the past three decades, Lyme disease has been portrayed as hard to catch and easily treated [16] while those who control the narrative (Through editorial censorship) refuse to recognize this pathogen as an antibiotic resistant/tolerant superbug by suppressing evidence of persistent infection. [17] This misclassification has all but eliminated government funding that should have been equal to or greater than AIDS or Zika which are also life-altering/life-threatening infections in need of cures.
What we are dealing with here is an antibiotic resistant/tolerant superbug but the focus over the past three decades (as seen in the Lancet article) has been to discredit the sick and disabled along with the practitioners attempting to help these patients as opposed to finding new antimicrobials effective in eradicating all forms of the Borrelia spirochete; L-forms, round bodies and persister cells.
The truth about this devastating disease has been kept from the public for 43 years and there are no Public Service Announcements informing the public that you could become horribly disabled or die from Lyme disease
A worldwide community of physicians has been influenced by the ongoing disinformation campaign aimed at promoting the idea that Lyme is little more than a nuisance disease as health agencies across the globe are blindly following what has been deceitfully established here in the U.S.
We are dealing with a life-altering/life-threatening infection with faulty/misleading antibody tests, inadequate treatment, no medical training and absolutely no disease control.
This has been a 43 year epic failure on the part of the CDC and now you inherited this travesty.
Will you continue to turn a blind eye to this 21st Century plague?
A response to this inquiry is requested.
Carl Tuttle
Independent Researcher
Lyme Endemic Hudson, NH USA
Reviewer, American Journal of Infectious Diseases
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: Associate Editors, Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease
References: ( Please read them!)
1. 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.”
2. 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
3. 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
4. Professor Neil Spector: Duke physician uses near-death experience to encourage patient self-advocacy
https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2015/05/duke-physician-uses-near-death-experience-encourage-patient-self-advocacy
Dr Neil Spector from Duke University required a heart transplant after his Lyme disease went undiagnosed for four years.
5. 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
Fifth-grade teacher Kelly Downing was paralyzed from the neck down and interviewed by Katie Couric.
6. Infection by Borrelia burgdorferi and cutaneous B-cell lymphoma (Cancer)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9331890
Specific DNA sequences of Borrelia burgdorferi were identified in cutaneous lesions from 9 patients (follicle center lymphoma: 3/20; immunocytoma: 3/4; marginal zone B-cell lymphoma: 2/20; diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: 1/6).
7. Application of Nanotrap technology for high sensitivity measurement of urinary outer surface protein A carboxyl-terminus domain in early stage Lyme borreliosis.
http://translational-medicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12967-015-0701-z
41 of 100 patients under surveillance for persistent LB in an endemic area were positive for urinary OspA protein after antibiotic treatment.
8. Culture evidence of Lyme disease in antibiotic treated patients living in the Southeast.
http://danielcameronmd.com/culture-evidence-of-lyme-disease-in-antibiotic-treated-patients-living-in-the-southeast/
Rudenko and colleagues reported culture confirmation of chronic Lyme disease in 24 patients in North Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. All had undergone previous antibiotic treatment.
9. DNA sequencing diagnosis of off-season spirochetemia with low bacterial density in Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia miyamotoi infections.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24968274
Faulty/misleading antibody tests landed a sixteen year old male in a psychiatric ward when his lab results did not meet the CDC’s strict criteria for positive results. His Western blot had only four of the required five IgG bands. Subsequent DNA sequencing identified a spirochetemia in this patient’s blood so his psychiatric issues were a result of neurologic Lyme disease misdiagnosed by antiquated/misleading serology. This patient was previously treated with antibiotics.
10. Granulomatous hepatitis associated with chronic Borrelia burgdorferi infection: a case report
http://www.labome.org/research/Granulomatous-hepatitis-associated-with-chronic-Borrelia-burgdorferi-infection-a-case-report.html
The patient had active, systemic Borrelia burgdorferi infection and consequent Lyme hepatitis, despite antibiotic therapy.
11. Scotty Shelton and Persistent Infection in Saginaw MN
https://www.change.org/p/the-us-senate-calling-for-a-congressional-investigation-of-the-cdc-idsa-and-aldf/u/11685820
“Scotty's brain (cerebral cortex) was positive for Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia myamotoi, his testicle is positive for Bb. We are now testing other tissues. Seven years of antibiotics and 3.5 years of natural treatments (along with antibiotics) and he was highly highly positive.”
12. Congenital Transmission of Lyme/TBD
https://www.dropbox.com/s/z10em0szgpm8bll/Congenital%20Transmission%20of%20Lyme%202015.doc?dl=0
13. 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/
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.”
14. $1.8 billion to fight Zika: CDC moves to highest alert level
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/02/08/obama-to-ask-congress-for-1-8-billion-to-combat-zika-virus/
15. Lyme disease antiscience
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(12)70054-3/fulltext
16. Lyme Disease Is Hard to Catch And Easy to Halt, Study Finds
New York Times By GINA KOLATA Published: June 13, 2001
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/13/us/lyme-disease-is-hard-to-catch-and-easy-to-halt-study-finds.html
Excerpt: But some who have treated hundreds of patients with long-term antibiotics, like Dr. Sam L. Donta of Boston University Medical Center, were not convinced. The antibiotics in the studies were not given for a long enough time, Dr. Donta said, and he would have chosen different ones. Perhaps all that the studies show, he said, is ''that this particular treatment doesn't work.''
17. Peer Reviewed Evidence of Persistence of Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi and Tick-Borne Diseases after the mandated one-size-fits-all IDSA treatment approach:(700 articles)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/n09sk90eo6xz7ua/700%20articles%20LYME%20EvidenceofPersistence-V2.pdf?dl=0