I was bitten by over 40 ticks in 2010. I was seriously ill. Pain, fatigue, brain fog, nerve pain, tinnitus, pins and needles. And for years, what I got from the medical system was a shrug, a normal test result, and a whole lot of nothing.
Years later I had testing done in both Australia and overseas that confirmed what had happened to me. And I still cannot access proper medical treatment in this country.
So this week, when a landmark Australian study was published in Scientific Reports showing biological, molecular-level evidence that tick bites cause measurable changes in the human body, I felt something I haven't felt in a very long time. Vindication.
What the research actually found
The study, led by researchers from CSIRO and Murdoch University and published on 30 June 2026, is the first of its kind in Australia. Researchers tracked circulating microRNAs, tiny molecules that regulate gene expression, in tick-bitten patients and in people living with DSCATT (Debilitating Symptom Complexes Attributed to Ticks).
What they found was significant.
Tick bites triggered widespread changes, with 149 microRNAs showing significant variation over 12 months. These affected pathways linked to immune modulation, tissue remodelling, and cellular stress responses. In DSCATT patients, 98 microRNAs were differentially expressed, with four directly correlated with symptom severity including fatigue and dizziness.
Researchers also used machine learning to identify a five-microRNA signature capable of classifying acute tick bite with 86% accuracy.
That's not "unexplained." That's not psychological. That's biology, measured and documented in a peer-reviewed journal.
For those of us who've spent years being dismissed, gaslit, or left to find our own way through chronic illness after a tick bite, this is enormous.
Vindication isn't the same as care
Validation and access to care are two very different things. And that's where I get frustrated.
Right now in Australia, if your standard tick-borne infection tests come back negative or inconclusive, the clinical pathway dead-ends. Doctors aren't free to use their clinical judgement. You're sent home without a diagnosis, without treatment, without any real options.
That is exactly what happened to me, and it is still happening to thousands of Australians.
I haven't had a GP in years. Not by choice. By necessity. There are almost no doctors in this country with the knowledge or the freedom to treat complex tick-related illness. The affordable treatment options are close to non-existent. I've had to piece my recovery together through nutrition, detoxing, mindset work, and a lot of stubbornness.
That is not acceptable. And this study gives us the evidence to say so loudly.
What needs to happen next
The Lyme Disease Association of Australia is calling for urgent review of the DSCATT clinical pathway, investment in biomarker research, and critically, access to evidence-responsive care including antimicrobial treatments for patients with ongoing symptoms. Affordable, accessible, and led by doctors who are actually allowed to treat you.
This research matters. But research without action changes nothing for the people who are sick right now.
If this resonates with you or someone you love, share it. The more noise we make, the harder it becomes to ignore.
