Lyme Disease in Papua New Guinea

I visited PNG in September on a combo highlands/live-aboard dive trip. Several days into the dive trip I noticed the rash from a bug bite on my thigh. Over the course of a week it blossomed out to a full bulls-eye target rash. After doing some research I learned this was classic Lyme disease. I'm seeing a Lyme specialist and am getting treatment, which is long term, very expensive, with no guarantee I'll ever get rid of it completely. With Lyme comes co-infections and I'm concerned I may have contracted a co-infection too that my doctors in the US might not be able to identify. I have contacted a medical research facility in PNG, but have not heard back from them. If anyone else has gotten this type of rash and/or got sick after a trip to PNG, I'd love to correspond with you.

Bug bites in PNG. If you develop malaria like symptoms check for scrub typhus. Never heard of Lyme disease in 28 years living there. Check for ring worm for the rash!

I got the tick bite in the Alotoa area. The blood tests have now confirmed that it definitely is Lyme. Some researchers believe that much of the population there is infected with the bacteria that causes Lyme. Problem is its nearly always misdiagnosed. Epstein Barr, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Anaplasmosis, Bartonella often come with the same tick bite.