Lyme disease vastly under-detected in Canada, according to new study
Mount A biologist co-authors research that suggests only 3-4% of Lyme cases are officially diagnosed
Friday October 20th, 2018
A NEW STUDY published in the journal Healthcare suggests the vast majority of Canadians who have Lyme disease are slipping through the cracks.
The research was done by Vett Lloyd, a Mount Allison University biology professor, and Dr. Ralph Hawkins, a clinical associate professor at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine.
Lloyd is a founding member of Mount Allison’s Lyme Research Network, and Hawkins is a member of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta.
Lloyd said they started with a question brought to the research community by patients and their advocates.
They wanted to know why the official number of Lyme diagnoses was so low — fewer than 1,000 — when many thousands of people belong to the patient community.
“If everyone is working from the same baseline information we can perhaps start to move forward to dealing with this disease,” said Lloyd, who contracted Lyme disease from a tick in her backyard, and has been studying ticks for several years.
Took 16 years for someone to either take me seriously or even suggest I may have Lyme disease. Thank goodness I’m getting treated and starting to feel better already. I felt like I’d never be able to enjoy life like other people around me.
Where are you located and how did you get someone to take you seriously? I’m having a very difficult time and being passed around. Any suggestions?
My son was sick for 14 years before Dr. Hawkins diagnosed him with Chronic Lyme with testing through a German Lab. During those 14 years, he had the Canadian test for Lyme disease two times – both results negative. Had the Canadian Health system not failed him (after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on doctors, testing, and drugs), he might be living a normal life today. Instead he will never be well – he lives with chronic pain, insomnia and fatigue.
it is unfortunate our gov’t does not really want to know if you have lyme disease or not. they believe it is cheaper to not know(proper testing at the specific labs in germany and the USA is expensive but accurate). the gov does not acknowledge the ongoing cost of these lyme disease patients who seek medical help ( under other disease names) trying to maintain some quality of life.people infected with lyme disease may end up going on disability plans, needed home care assistance , medications etc or dying ).Manitoba’s health care continues to drop significantly with our present government. glad you are receiving treatment and acknowledgment of the disease.once again, it is critical to fight for your rights to decent healthcare. one must be in charge of your own health.