Aussie man's $40,000 gamble after suspected bite from garden pest

A young Aussie who has faced excruciating health issues for more than a decade is about to make a $40,000 bet that a clinic on the other side of the world has an answer to his problem.

Jordan Clark believes a tick bite at the age of 16 while on a family holiday in Queensland was the source of his sudden, mysterious and dramatic health issues. Now in his late 20s, he has spent years suffering from a myriad of symptoms including chronic fatigue, pointing to possible Lyme disease caused by the tick's bacteria.

But it's a diagnosis that divides the medical community in Australia and can lead to patients having to look far afield for help.

That's what Jordan is about to do, flying out to Cyprus to visit a clinic that specialises in treatment for Lyme disease after raising more than $40,000 from the Australian public.

"It's all happening," he told Yahoo on Thursday before flying out on the more than 12,000km journey.

He starts treatment on Monday and will receive care for a total of eight weeks before returning home to Australia in November.

"I'm feeling a little bit nervous, but also excited," he said.

It's a serious bet to make after raising so much money, admitting the response from a GoFundMe campaign was "overwhelming".

"Though this journey has been exhausting, frustrating, humiliating, and crippling at times, I am still optimistic about the potential for this next phase of treatment to have life-altering results," he wrote on the fundraising page.

Now on the cusp of his goal, he remains hopeful the Ozone therapy, which is considered an effective treatment for acute bacterial infection such as Lyme disease, can provide him the relief has has sought for so long.

"I'm feeling pretty confident," he told Yahoo. "They [the clinic] have a good history".

The contentious status of Lyme disease in Australia

Lyme disease is a tick-borne infection caused by bacteria. According to NSW Health, "although locally-acquired Lyme disease cannot be ruled out, there is little evidence that it occurs in Australia". However, "there is a continuing risk of Lyme disease for overseas travellers," the department states online.

The Australian federal government has a similarly skeptical public stance.

"Scientists have not found Borrelia burgdorferi in Australian ticks, or any other Australian insect that could pass the disease to humans," it states. "For this reason, the Australian Government does not support the diagnosis of locally acquired Lyme disease. Instead, it recognises that a group of patients experience debilitating symptom complexes that some people attribute to ticks. We call this DSCATT (Debilitating Symptom Complexes Attributed to Ticks)."

However the federal government notes that Lyme disease from ticks is "commonly found in parts of the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Asia."

According to advice from the Australian Federal government, most tick bites will be harmless but can cause severe allergic reactions.

"Long grasses and bushland provide ideal environments for ticks, and if people live close to these areas, it is common for people to have Australian paralysis ticks in their garden," it says.

"People with recurrent severe allergic reactions to tick bites may consider relocating to an area where ticks are not endemic. Women should try to avoid exposure to ticks during pregnancy and during breastfeeding."

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