Is there a treatment for Lyme disease?
Antibiotics are the best way to treat Lyme. Most doctors will prescribe a two-week course, and the earlier the drugs are started, the more effective they tend to be. Some people develop lingering symptoms of the disease, even after there is no sign of active infection with the Lyme bacteria, and researchers, including Tokarz, are trying to understand why and how that occurs. “There are so many different hypotheses—whether there is some persistent bacteria, some remains of bacteria, something entirely different, or some co-infection with another tick-borne pathogen, or some damage to the immune system from the initial infection—at this point it’s difficult to prove or disprove them,” he says.
Is there a vaccine for Lyme disease?
Not yet. But in March, Pfizer reported encouraging results: its vaccine candidate prevented Lyme disease in 73% of people who received it, compared to those getting placebo, in a trial lasting more than a year. As promising as the results are, however, they did not meet the statistical criteria that were specified in the trial—but the company says the efficacy is enough for them to request approval from regulatory agencies.
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