CBC News: Lyme disease patients hope conference fixes ‘woefully inadequate’ healthcare
Conference part of bill to create national framework for prevention, treatment and awareness
Andrew Foote May 15th, 2016 CBC News
Canadians living with Lyme disease say they hope a national conference in Ottawa helps fix the many issues they see with the way Canada diagnoses and treats the disease.
The three-day conference with politicians, patients and scientists is part of the push to establish a national framework on the disease, caused by bacteria carried by infected black-legged ticks.
It comes after federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May got a private member’s bill passed to come up with a framework on Lyme disease prevention, treatment and awareness.
- Lyme disease response requires collaboration in Canada, researcher says
- Lyme disease diagnosis a battle in Quebec, patients say
- Ticks emerge early in Ottawa region
The head of the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation, one of three chairs of the conference, said patients have so far been “totally excluded” from discussions about how the disease should be handled.