Barbour A G
Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio 78284.
Infect Agents Dis. 1992 Feb;1(1):50-61.
Lyme disease, presently the most common arthropod-borne disease in the United States, is a phenomenon of both medical and social importance. Notwithstanding the substantial public health threat posed by Borrelia burgdorferi infection, there is reason to suspect that the diagnosis of Lyme disease is made more frequently than justified. On the other hand, the current dissatisfaction with serologic assays for B. burgdorferi infection may lead some physicians to inappropriately abandon consideration of the diagnosis entirely. Either of these outcomes of the patient-physician encounter is to be regretted. The Lyme disease problem, as I call the current situation, has both biological and social determinants.
莱姆病是目前美国最常见的节肢动物传播疾病，是一个具有医学和社会重要性的现象。尽管伯氏疏螺旋体感染对公众健康构成了重大威胁，但有理由怀疑莱姆病的诊断频率高于合理水平。另一方面，目前对伯氏疏螺旋体感染血清学检测的不满可能导致一些医生完全不适当地放弃对该诊断的考虑。医患接触的这两种结果都令人遗憾。我所称的莱姆病问题，既有生物学决定因素，也有社会决定因素。
