Nearly two years before Willy Burgdorfer discovered the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, he stumbled upon another obscure tick-borne bacterium, Rickettsia helvetica, which he called the Swiss Agent. But, Burgdorfer put those results aside. His 1980s-era papers on the forgotten research were recently discovered, raising new questions about the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease in humans.
Source: STAT, October 12, 2016. via AVMA Smartbrief, October 14, 2016.
While the evidence is hardly conclusive, patients and doctors might be mistaking under-the-radar Swiss Agent infections for Lyme, the infectious disease specialists said. Or the bacteria could be co-infecting some Lyme patients, exacerbating symptoms and complicating their treatment — and even stoking a bitter debate about whether Lyme often becomes a persistent and serious illness.