The Strasbourg trial of a biologist and a pharmacist highlights the shortcomings of the medical community with regard to Lyme disease.
“On Lyme disease, nothing has changed for 30 years. Its prevalence is underestimated, the tests are unreliable and patients are often poorly treated ”. These words are not those of the defense lawyers, but of Professor Christian Perronne, head of the infectious diseases department at the Raymond-Poincaré hospital in Garches and member of the High Council for Public Health, heard at the Strasbourg court, in within the framework of the trial of Viviane Schaller, biologist, and pharmacist Bernard Christophe. The first is accused of having falsified the results of official tests to carry out other analyzes, which she was reimbursed by social security. Cost of the operation: more than 200,000 euros. The second is being prosecuted for having sold his Tic Tox, a product made from essential oils without authorization. It would be, according to him, a food supplement, while it would be assimilated to a drug according to the prosecution.
Deficiencies in the medical world
Beyond the news item, this trial highlights the shortcomings of the medical world vis-à-vis a little-known pathology. Lyme disease is transmitted by ticks, which are found in our forests. It starts with a rash of the skin, and if left untreated, it can cause joint, skin, heart and neurological problems. Its incidence is estimated to be around 43 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, with disparities at the regional level.
Thus, Alsace and the Meuse have the highest rates. But for Professor Perronne, there is a dramatic underestimation of the disease in France. “Serological tests have been calibrated so that there is never more than 5% of positive results, and this dogma has never been questioned for 30 years,” he said. He describes a kind of omerta in the medical world, with work on this disease struggling to be published.
It is in this context that Viviane Schaller falsified the results of the official test, because the protocol provides that a second test should only be performed after a positive or equivocal result of the first. As for the pharmacist, did he take advantage of the situation, knowing that antibiotic treatments for Lyme disease are not always effective because of resistance? In any case, the patients took the stand to testify to their suffering.
The trial, which began two years ago, should soon see its end. The court has reserved its decision, and will deliver its verdict on November 13.
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