Stanford Report An infectious disease expert explains the tick-borne illness and why it’s so often misunderstood by patients and the practitioners advising them. A significant portion of Jake Scott’s practice involves helping patients who believe they have “chronic Lyme disease” understand what may actually be causing their symptoms.
“My role combines patient care with education,” said the infectious disease physician at Stanford Medicine. “I try to ensure that people are diagnosed accurately rather than being misdiagnosed and overtreated.”
Lyme disease is caused by a bite from a tick infected with the bacteria Borellia burgdorferi. It typically begins with flu-like symptoms such as fatigue, fever, headache, and muscle aches, often accompanied by a distinctive bull’s-eye rash at the site of the bite. If left untreated, the infection can spread and cause other symptoms, mainly joint pain but sometimes also fatigue, headaches and neck stiffness, rashes, and heart palpitations.
“Chronic Lyme disease” is a controversial term used by some practitioners to describe ongoing symptoms they attribute to a persistent infection, often diagnosed using unvalidated tests. The condition isn’t recognized by mainstream medicine because studies consistently show no evidence of Borellia after appropriate antibiotic treatment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention instead uses the term post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome for the small percentage of properly treated patients who experience lingering symptoms.