1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
HealthGlobal issues

Lyme disease and the fight for recognition

April 2, 2024

Years of pain, paralysis and fear - without a diagnosis. For a long time, medicine seemed to ignore Lyme disease. The film accompanies several patients as they fight for an accurate diagnosis -- and the right treatment.

https://p.dw.com/p/4eMBl

Many Lyme disease patients suffer for a long time before receiving a diagnosis. Their symptoms, including pain and paralysis, often seem to indicate other diseases, like MS. The fact that they have been bitten by a tick that carried Lyme disease often only emerges after many examinations. This is exactly what happened to two of the film’s subjects: a girl from Brooklyn, NY and a researcher at Duke University. Both decided to take matters into their own hands and began carrying out independent research into their symptoms. Both ended up in the middle of a controversial medical debate and found themselves having to fight hard for adequate treatment.

Skip next section About the show

About the show

DW DocFilm Sendungslogo Composite

DocFilm

Exciting stories, a wide variety of topics, fascinating pictures: every day, half or three-quarters of an hour of carefully researched background reports from the worlds of politics, business, science, culture, nature, history, lifestyle and sport.