A six-year-old Newcastle girl is at the centre of a major medical storm over whether a debilitating tick-borne disease exists in Australia.

Laura France was diagnosed with Lyme disease late last year following tests done on her blood in the US.

Laura France and her mother Michelle are battling to get her condition recognised. Credit:Newcastle Herald

Her family and several doctors are convinced she has the illness, a bacterial infection spread by ticks, but NSW Health disagrees.

The department says the disease does not exist in Australia and will not fund any treatment for it.