Family criticises BKUS after teenager's Lyme disease found elsewhere years later

Ivo, a young man from Riga, and his mother have approached the TV3 programme "Bez tabu" to talk publicly about a treatment period lasting roughly four years. The family criticises the Children's Clinical University Hospital (BKUS) in Latvia, believing that a correct diagnosis was not made for a long time.

What the family claims

According to the family, Lyme disease, a tick-borne bacterial infection, was identified in Ivo only after they consulted another doctor. Until then, his treatment had gone on for about four years.

What is known about the case

The information available about the case is limited. It is the family's account, presented in a television programme. The source does not say what symptoms the young man had, which tests and therapy were carried out, or how the hospital responds to the criticism. For that reason the family's claims cannot currently be set against an explanation from the medical institution.

The story shows that the family is seeking public attention for its case because it believes the diagnosis came too late.