An action plan for Lyme disease

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Think of it more as the plan behind the plan. In June, the Ontario legislature passed Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett's private member bill calling for a provincial framework and action plan concerning vector-borne diseases.

According to a 2014 Scientific American article, Canadian public health officials predict 10,000 Canadians a year will be wrestling with Lyme disease by 2020, up significantly from the 500 cases reported nationwide in 2013.

Initiatives are already underway to complement Bill 27, including work to address Lyme disease in Ontario, says David Jensen, media relations co-ordinator for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

A provincial 2015 Lyme disease strategy "includes continued human and tick surveillance; and public education and awareness on how to recognize and prevent tick bites, and to ensure early diagnosis and treatment. Our government is also developing a provincial Lyme Disease Action Plan that will include a review and update of existing public awareness and education materials, guidelines and tick surveillance protocols with Public Health Ontario, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the public health units, Ontario Parks and other stakeholders."

When discussing his bill during second reading last November, Barrett referenced diseases such as West Nile and Lyme, both of which spread through insect bites. "Diseases are changing, and those in charge need to change and accommodate, as do the rest of us," he said. Newly arrived diseases "compete for attention. They compete for scarce resources." A framework is needed "to set priorities with respect to allocation of resources."

Jim Wilson, Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation president, questions whether the new legislation will change the medical approach to Lyme disease treatment, referring to a long-standing dispute over the treatment of chronic sufferers. Eric Hoskins, Ontario's minister of health, needs to engage "the patients and our experts as equal partners in building the framework for Lyme disease," he wrote in an email. BF