Is Lyme disease a "made-up disease" that "was and is always" HIV/AIDS? No, that's not true: Lyme disease and HIV, the infection that causes AIDS, are distinct. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection spread by ticks. HIV is a virus. The two have different causes, symptoms and treatments.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, on August 17, 2023. The post included a short video, featuring Judy Mikovits, and a caption that read:
No such thing as Lyme disease. It was & is always HIV AIDS caused by the GP 120 injected! Treating people with antibiotic protocols destroys their gut microbiome, therefore destroys their health!
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
No such thing as Lyme disease. It was & is always HIV AIDS caused by the GP 120 injected!
-- Judy A. Mikovits PhD (@DrJudyAMikovits) August 17, 2023
Treating people with antibiotic protocols destroys their gut microbiome, therefore destroys their health!#truth #news #health #lymedisease #HIV #AIDS #thursdaymorning #thursdayvibes... https://t.co/AqYrRzZmql pic.twitter.com/ekfMbihk4B
(Source: Twitter screenshot taken on Fri Aug 25 14:56:24 2023 UTC)
Mikovits, a Ph.D. researcher whose COVID misinformation has been repeatedly debunked, offered no proof for her claim. In the video, she said:
When you make up diseases like COVID or long-haul COVID or chronic fatigue syndrome or Lyme disease -- now everybody's mad at me. 'Oh, you said there's no such thing as Lyme disease,' and the answer is there's not. It was and is always HIV/AIDS caused by the GP 120 injected.
That's not true. Lyme disease, like COVID, is real and it's not the same as HIV/AIDS.
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection spread by ticks. One of its earliest symptoms is often a rash that looks like a bullseye. Left untreated, infection can spread, causing muscle weakness, irregular heartbeats and painful swelling, among other symptoms. Most cases can be treated with a few weeks of antibiotics, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although some patients report persistent symptoms even after treatment. Lyme disease was first reported in the United States in 1977.
By contrast, HIV is a virus that attacks and weakens the immune system. There is no cure for HIV but treatments can slow or stop the infection from progressing. Unlike Lyme disease, which is spread by ticks, HIV is mainly spread through unprotected sex with an infected partner and the sharing of needles. Common early symptoms can include fever and muscle pain, while people with AIDS, the most severe stage of HIV, are at risk for an increasing number of opportunistic infections. The first AIDS cases were not reported in the United States until 1981, four years after Lyme disease was first reported.
