Parliamentarians convene bi-partisan panel to address Lyme disease

Karen Ludwig heard it disturbingly frequently on the campaign trail last summer: constituents complaining of an obscure, little-understood illness that left painful and occasionally debilitating symptoms, and perplexed local health professionals struggling to pinpoint the cause.

Lyme disease, the tick-borne illness first identified in New England, had migrated north and was sinking its teeth into southwestern New Brunswick.

“It wasn’t [just] in the endemic areas that have been identified in the province, it was across the riding. Different people that talked about their experience suffering from Lyme disease, they were looking for help,” Ms. Ludwig (New Brunswick Southwest, N.B.) said in an interview.

“It was alarming to hear how widespread the disease is.”