Why does the CDC say this.

[Guest pandas16]

Lingering symptoms after treatment (post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome)

Approximately 10-20% of patients with Lyme disease have symptoms that last months to years after treatment with antibiotics5. These symptoms can include muscle and joint pains, cognitive defects, sleep disturbance, or fatigue. The cause of these symptoms is not known, but there is no evidence that these symptoms are due to ongoing infection with B. burgdorferi. This condition is referred to as Post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). There is some evidence that PTLDS is caused by an autoimmune response, in which a person's immune system continues to respond, doing damage to the body’s tissues, even after the infection has been cleared. Studies have shown that continuing antibiotic therapy is not helpful and can be harmful for persons with PTLDS.

[LNN]

Due to the schism in lyme, you find CDC and IDSA on one side and ILADS on the other. The best comprehensive explanation for the schism can be found by reading Cure Unknown by Pamela Weintraub. I highly recommend the book as a must read to understand lyme and the landscape.

[LNN]

Poking around on Pam's website, I found this:

http://www.cureunknown.com/

Go to the link "related Article" and read the 2009 article What We Don't Know About Lyme - a cliff notes summary of Cure Unknown and a lite version of the answer to your question.

Edited July 8, 2011 by LLM