Notes by András Pál Bózsik, Lyme disease laboratory specialist
Bella Hadid is regularly treated for Lyme disease. What do I think about this? In my opinion, she may be the victim of a professional error. I would not dare to say that this is a deliberate hoax, as most doctors act in good faith. But let’s see how it is even possible that Bella Hadid actually has Lyme disease.
Where could the infection have come from?
Interestingly, it has previously been revealed that her mother also suffers from Lyme disease. Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility that Bella contracted the infection from her mother while she was still in the womb. I discussed this possibility earlier in the Tick Boot Camp podcast – it’s an interesting episode, well worth a listen.
Lyme disease is an extremely insidious disease: it is difficult to diagnose and treat, even for doctors.
The question of diagnosis
I tried to find out what could support Bella Hadid’s Lyme disease diagnosis. I found an earlier post in which she shared one of her findings.
This test result appears to be genuine and can be linked to the laboratory used by Dr Klinghardt. Incidentally, it was issued by an American laboratory company called Connexxions. However, the technical information on the test result is rather contradictory.
For example, it confuses the issue of sensitivity and specificity with the detection limit, stating that the sensitivity is 1-10 microbes, which would be the detection limit, but it should be specified in what sample size. One of the problems with the PCR-based method is that it can detect even extremely small amounts of DNA – up to five pieces of pathogen DNA in a millilitre sample.
While this is a technological feat, it can also be misleading. The method can detect pathogen DNA even when it is no longer a source of active infection.
It is also important to note that our bodies may harbour numerous pathogenic bacteria that are kept in check by the immune system, so the presence of small amounts does not necessarily indicate actual disease.
This is one of the biggest problems with this test: we cannot know for sure whether treatment is warranted based on such a result.
The danger of overtreatment
There are also more accurate tests with diagnostic value that are suitable for direct detection, such as the DualDur test developed in Hungary. Of course, a diagnosis requires not only laboratory results but also an assessment of clinical symptoms.
The test in question is a genetic test based on urine samples that examines multiple gene segments. It gave positive results for most bacteria, but pathogen detection from urine samples is professionally controversial. Many question both its sensitivity and specificity, so we cannot be sure that what we are measuring actually indicates an active infection.
Nevertheless, Bella Hadid received more than 100 days of intravenous antibiotic treatment based on a questionable diagnosis. To be honest, I do not envy her for this. According to our current scientific knowledge, in many cases, a well-targeted, combined treatment can achieve a cure in half the time.
It is possible that longer therapy may be necessary in the most severe cases, but the duration and justification of the treatment is questionable even in these cases.
The role of reliable diagnostics
The Lyme Borreliosis Foundation has been helping with the detection and diagnosis of Lyme disease for decades. As a result, we have all the information we need about the best clinically tested European tests and clinically proven combination antibiotic treatments, which in many cases are more effective than the methods used abroad, primarily in America.
