Lyme Disease Vaccine

Lyme Disease Vaccine
Many people, most of them members of advocacy groups, believe that poor sales is not the reason GlaxoSmithKline withdrew a Lyme vaccine from the market. Researchers are convinced that there are much more complicated reasons why LYMErix was pulled out of the world market.

Research for another vaccine is ongoing. Currently, no Lyme disease vaccine is available in the market. It is important for a good prevention mechanism to be adopted especially bearing in mind that many reservations were expressed on the previous vaccines. Many advocacy groups are warning against hype that might be mistaken by many people as implying that a new vaccine has been invented.

As the search for a new Lyme disease vaccine continues, new tests are being introduced into the medical field to make it easier for doctors to make diagnoses of the dreaded disease. Durland Fish, a Yale entomologist insists that the decision by GlaxoSmithKline to withdraw the vaccine did not make life any easier for doctors; that medical practitioners were left with very few tools with which to fight this disease; that today, patients are more worried than ever before.

The vaccine has triggered lawsuits, with some patients saying that it causes arthritis and has very many other side effects. Lyme disease causes symptoms similar to those of flu. It also causes aches and fatigue. It is transmitted through a bite from an infected tick. Antibiotics treat the condition very successfully. If it is not treated early, the disease can metamorphose into arthritis. Sometimes the condition can over time lead to neurological and cardiovascular problems.

Every year, 15,000 new Lyme disease cases are reported. At the Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University, collaboration between scientists has resulted into the development of a vaccine that can protect people from the disease without triggering any side effects. This genetically engineered vaccine has been able to produce excellent results in animals. Before it can be released into the market, human testing must be done first.

The scientists behind the research that produced the vaccine are optimistic that it will do well in Europe, Asia and even the US. The concerns similar to those that had been raised earlier will not occur. Effective vaccine, Fish adds, might prove very elusive in the near future since people might remain reluctant on seeking protection against a disease that can be completely treated. People might reason that the risk of using a vaccines not working is not worth taking.