He was certain he had Lyme disease, but he was surprised to find out he also had a co-infection with Bartonella.
Imre Szász, now retired, has been suffering from the symptoms of tick-borne infections since childhood – for sixty years. As a young boy, he lived in the countryside; his parents kept animals, and there were days when he was bitten by five or six horseflies. He had headaches, blurred vision, felt dizzy, and every part of his body ached – his parents put his ailments down to adolescence. As an adult, he went from doctor to doctor until, in the 1980s, a naturopath suggested he might have Lyme disease. The test carried out at the time did not confirm this suspicion. Later, she came into contact with Chief Physician Béla Pál Bózsik, who diagnosed her with Lyme disease based on her symptoms.
After that, he set about finding out more about his condition, reading articles about it online, and, as he had been an active Facebook user from the start, he found his way to a patient support group organised on the social media platform. It was here that she first learnt about the DualDur test, and then read about it online. She could hardly wait for the test to become available to a wider audience so that she could take it herself. She felt it was important to have the test done because she was curious to find out whether she had an infection, and she wanted to finally discover what had been causing her decades of suffering.
The sample collection involved a simple, painless blood test; she had to avoid fatty foods for a day beforehand.
The results arrived quickly. It was confirmed that she had Lyme disease; in fact, it turned out she also had Bartonella. She was not surprised by the diagnosis of Lyme disease. However, it was important that the result finally allowed her to prove what was causing her health problems, so that she could show those around her that she was not feigning her symptoms. What did surprise her was the Bartonella infection, as she had not suspected this at all.
He has absolute confidence in the test; he believes it is no coincidence that the programme received more than one billion forints from the European Commission. Moreover, the test is capable of directly detecting the pathogen – which is also confirmed by imaging – rather than merely the immune response. All this further reinforces its credibility, says Imre Szász. Furthermore, the DualDur test also reveals co-infections, which he regards as another positive aspect.
His treatment is currently proceeding in small steps, as he has gastroenterological problems, so he has to proceed cautiously with the course of antibiotics on his doctor’s advice, but he would very much like to feel much better and receive further help.
(C) Lyme Borreliosis Foundation
