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== Political actions ==
While there is general agreement on the optimal treatment for Lyme disease, the existence of chronic Lyme is generally rejected because there is no evidence of its existence.<ref name="Tonks" /><ref name="Ballantyne 2008" /><ref name=":0" /> Even among those who believe in it, there is no consensus over its prevalence, symptoms, diagnostic criteria, or treatment.<ref name=Tonks/><ref name="Ballantyne 2008"/><ref name=":0">[http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1215615 ''Correspondence'', "Reinfection versus Relapse in Lyme Disease"], ''New England Journal of Medicine'', March 14, 2013. (This exchange of three letters nicely illustrates the controversy and some of the issues at stake.)</ref> The evidence-based perspective is exemplified by a 2007 review in ''[[The New England Journal of Medicine]],'' which noted the diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease is used by a few physicians despite a lack of "reproducible or convincing scientific evidence", leading the authors to describe this diagnosis as "the latest in a series of syndromes that have been postulated in an attempt to attribute medically unexplained symptoms to particular infections."<ref name="nejm-feder"/> Medical authorities agree with this viewpoint: the [[Infectious Diseases Society of America]] (IDSA), the [[American Academy of Neurology]], the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC), and the [[National Institutes of Health]] (NIH), advise against long-term antibiotic treatment for people who identify as having chronic Lyme disease, given the lack of supporting evidence and the potential for harmful side-effects,
A minority, primarily not medical practitioners, holds that chronic Lyme disease is responsible for a range of [[Medically unexplained physical symptoms|unexplained symptoms]], sometimes in people without any evidence of past infection.<ref name="Ballantyne 2008">{{cite journal |author=Ballantyne C |title=The chronic debate over Lyme disease|journal=Nat. Med. |volume=14 |issue=11 |pages=1135–39 |date=November 2008 |pmid=18989271 |doi=10.1038/nm1108-1135|s2cid=36510820}}</ref> This viewpoint is promoted by many who have been told they have the condition by people who lack experience in science or medicine.<ref name=Tonks/> Groups, advocates, and the small number of physicians who support the concept of chronic Lyme disease have organized to lobby for recognition of this diagnosis, as well as to argue for insurance coverage of long-term antibiotic therapy, which most insurers deny, as it is at odds with the guidelines of major medical organizations.<ref name="Ballantyne 2008"/><ref name="forbes">{{cite news | author = Whelan, David |url = https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0312/096.html |title = Lyme Inc |work = [[Forbes (magazine)|Forbes]] | date = 2007-03-12 | access-date = 2008-06-24}}</ref>
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