Antares in NYC
Senior Member
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Canada's Green Party has been able to pass a Lyme disease bill through both chambers, and it's ready to become law. This bill calls for the Canadian government to build a comprehensive strategy against the epidemic of Lyme that's taking place in their country, but this strategy needs to include not just medical authorities, but communities and patient advocates.
Hopefully this law puts an end to the witch-hunt of Lyme doctors that has left Canadian affected by the disease with no recourse but to travel to some USA states to get treatment.
Another take on this story:
Hopefully this law puts an end to the witch-hunt of Lyme doctors that has left Canadian affected by the disease with no recourse but to travel to some USA states to get treatment.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/12/12/elizabeth-may-lyme-disease-bill-green_n_6316692.html
Elizabeth May's Lyme Disease Bill Passes Senate In Green Party First
OTTAWA - The Senate has passed a private member's bill on Lyme disease, the first Green party bill to ever pass both houses of Parliament.
The legislation sponsored by Green party Leader Elizabeth May won Commons approval last June and now only needs royal assent to become law.
It calls on the government to call a conference of provincial and territorial ministers, medical experts and representatives of patient groups to develop a comprehensive Lyme disease strategy.
The strategy would include a national program to track rates of infections, and establish guidelines for preventing infections and diagnosing and treating them when they occur.
Lyme is a tick-borne disease whose symptoms include a rash, fever, headache and fatigue.
May says the bill could not have passed without the support of the government.
"The hard work of the minister of health, Rona Ambrose, and the entire Lyme community were instrumental in making this bill a reality," she said.
Although the legislation passed with all-party support, part of it was opposed by an organization representing infectious diseases specialists. (...)
Another take on this story:
Will we ever see such action in the States? It's way overdue.http://www.macleans.ca/society/health/health-canadas-new-lyme-disease-plan-you-act-well-watch/
Health Canada’s new Lyme disease plan: You act, we’ll watch
The spectre of a Canadian “Lyme epidemic” prompted Green Party Leader Elizabeth May to propose Bill C-442, itself a “national action plan” on Lyme disease. It passed through third reading in the House of Commons in June and has been referred to the Senate.
The bill was necessary. Canada has assumed the ostrich position toward Lyme for decades. Stories abound of people eventually diagnosed who were initially told by their doctors that they couldn’t have contracted Lyme because black-legged ticks don’t live in the vicinity. Lawsuits have been launched, one against the Canadian military. Lyme misdiagnosis in Manitoba is the subject of a Ph.D. thesis. It is a topic riven by rancorous debate. One area of dispute is the conventional wisdom that Lyme almost always announces itself via a bulls-eye rash. Lyme advocacy groups and “Lyme-literate” doctors dispute this—a position backed by a recent study of children in Nova Scotia that found undiagnosed Lyme led to arthritis: 76 per cent of those children showed no sign of a rash.
As that story illustrates, getting Lyme diagnosed can be difficult. As reported in Maclean’s, the two-tiered testing protocol used in Canada and the U.S. is riddled with false negatives and is unable to detect all bacterial strains and co-infections. Health Canada said as much in a 2012 advisory. Lyme’s early symptoms—fever, chills, joint pain, headache—accompany many conditions. Yet, early detection and treatment is critical; untreated Lyme affects neurological and motor functions, manifesting symptoms often misdiagnosed as MS, Parkinson’s and ALS. Lyme advocacy groups refer to this as “chronic Lyme,” a definition rejected by the Canadian government and by the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), which sets Lyme treatment guidelines. They both refer to lingering or worsening symptoms as “post-treatment Lyme syndrome,” which assumes Lyme was identified and treated in the first place. Here, too, debate is polarized. IDSA guidelines advise Lyme can be effectively treated with no more than four weeks of antibiotics. Lyme advocacy groups and doctors believe long-term antibiotics are required to vanquish the infection; Canadian doctors who’ve treated “chronic Lyme” with long-term antibiotics have been disciplined and/or seen their medical licences revoked, sending many Canadians to the U.S. for treatment.
It would be good to report that the government’s new “action plan” brings clarity, direction and help to Canadians suffering from Lyme disease—as well as those currently undiagnosed. But, fairly quickly, it becomes clear that by “action,” the government is referring to what people need to do to avoid being bitten by a tick in the first place. A big part of its awareness and education includes directives: Wear long sleeves and light colours in the brush; use bug repellant; shower after being outdoors; do daily “full body” checks for ticks on yourself, children and pets. Those who find a tick are advised to send it in for analysis. Canadians are also told to keep their lawns “well-maintained” and “to seek medical help if experiencing a range of symptoms.”
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