SUMMARY

June 2023

This research follows Lyme disease in Scotland before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, to explore how medical knowledge is produced in tension by scientists and patient advocates. This PhD has three parts: 

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It first explores the role of expertise and authority in the creation of Lyme-literacy which inverts doctor-patient hierarchies. I follow how patients use their illness as power and how scientists navigate the emotional landscapes of their work in the everyday outcomes of the Lyme wars.  

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Secondly, I introduce the concept of 'geographies of tolerance' which explores British exceptionalism and the role this played in tolerated Lyme disease and COVID-19 as 'safe' illnesses. I explore the familiarity with which Lyme patients approached the British national lockdown in March 2020, exploring how chronically ill patients hold a map for an ill world. 

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Finally, I discuss what microbial agency