Lyme disease patients rally for better diagnostic tests

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Lyme disease patients rally for better diagnostic tests

CTV.ca News Staff

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Updated Sun. Sep. 20 2009 10:00 PM ET

 

 

Canadian Lyme disease patients are calling for better doctor training and

more accurate tests so sufferers can be diagnosed and treated quickly

before their side effects become crippling and chronic.

 

 

At rallies across Canada this week, patients called for greater awareness

of the disease within the medical community, and asked provincial

governments to train doctors to recognize the disease.

 

 

" We have people on crutches, we have people that couldn't come today

because they are bedridden, " Lyme disease patient Gwen Barlee told CTV News at

a

rally in Vancouver. " Most people I know who have Lyme disease don't have

jobs anymore. "

 

 

More than 20,000 cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed across North America

every year.

 

The disease is contracted through the bite of an infected tick. Bacteria

from the bite enter the bloodstream and can infect joints, the heart and

even the brain.

 

 

Some experts believe that thousands more suffer for years without an

accurate diagnosis. They say blood tests used in Canada are not as

sophisticated

as those used in the United States, and that few doctors are trained to

recognize the symptoms.

 

 

Lyme disease can be cured early with antibiotics. However, it can lead to

a lifetime of pain, disability and neurological problems if left untreated.

 

 

" Our treatment is very expensive, very prolonged and our prognosis is now

uncertain, " said patient Rob Manten at a rally in Ontario. " I want to see

things changed and I call on our government to assist us in making that

happen. "

 

 

Their message echoed that of experts published in the Canadian Medical

Association Journal earlier this year.

 

 

In their report, researchers said Lyme disease, which was largely unheard

of in the 1980s, is now found across the country.

 

 

The tick that carries the Lyme-causing bacteria Ixodes scapularis is found

in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, southern Quebec, southern Ontario and

southeastern Manitoba.

 

 

The tick that spreads the bacterium in the West, Ixodes pacificus, is now

widespread in southern British Columbia.

 

 

The researchers called for better surveillance measures for ticks as they

spread throughout Canada. They also called on public health officials to

better inform the public and doctors about local risk levels, prevention and

the need for early diagnosis.

 

 

" Current passive surveillance for tick vectors has identified new endemic

areas, but additional methods are needed to precisely identify where Lyme

disease is emerging in Canada, " they wrote.

 

 

With a report from CTV medical specialist Avis Favaro and producer

Elizabeth St. Philip