CONTROVERSY OVER CHRONIC LYME: NO COUNTRIES WILL RECOGNIZE IT - BUT EUROPE IS SOFTENING ITS STANCE Lyme disease is present in ticks in much of North America (including the US and Canada), Europe (more prominently eastern and central than western) and northern Asia, though forms from different places are not identical. Chronic Lyme disease is not officially recognized. But countries like France, Canada, Switzerland and Germany have taken a more proactive stance on the disease than the US has. 'Really, the controversy stems from the unknowns' about the disease, says Tulane University Lyme researcher Dr Monica Morici-Embers. 'If we had some answers and we could prove this, that or the other, it wouldn't be controversial, but we can't and the disease is not simple.' As Lyme disease becomes more common around the world, France and Canada have created national plans to address tick-borne disease including Lyme. The US sees at least as many cases of Lyme each year as either country does. French researchers are looking into how tick bites themselves may lead to chronic illness. Meanwhile in the US, much research in the US focuses on the basics of the ticks that carry it and how the infection is transmitted. There are a handful of clinics that specialize in Lyme in the US as well as in other countries. A German clinic using hyperthermia - heating of the whole body - to treat Lyme has gained notoriety after several people claimed it cured them. The treatment is offered by at least one US clinic as well, but is only FDA approved for treating certain cancers and considered dangerous. Source
