Download PDF File: Virginia Lyme Proclamation 2010

We are excited to announce that Governor Bob McDonnell has proclaimed May 2010 to be Lyme disease awareness month in Virginia . A copy of the proclamation is attached. The proclamation request was submitted by the National Capital Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Association. The Governor accepted all of our recommendations for inclusion in his proclamation.

It is our hope that this designation for the month of May will raise the awareness of tick-borne diseases and preventative measures among all Virginians, and all who dwell in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Virginians should help spread the word that May is Lyme disease awareness month.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT: Monte Skall
703-821-8833; monte@skall.net

IDSA panel sticks to its 2006 treatment guidelines despite scientific evidence

Washington, D.C. April 23, 2010 - Monte Skall, Executive Director of the National Capital Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Association said, “It is a sad day for all patients when medical experts turn their backs on medical research when making treatment recommendations.” Skall refers to the fact that the panel of experts that reviewed the guidelines agreed that all of the 69 original recommendations were medically and scientifically justified while ignoring the large body of research that has found prolonged antibiotic therapy to be effective.

Carol J. Baker, MD, chair of the IDSA's Lyme Disease Review Panel, said, “The final report includes more than 1,000 citations.” Nonetheless, the review panel could not point to a single study that supported their recommendation that antibiotic therapy should be withheld from patients who continue to be sick.

Download (PDF) Version: Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT: Monte Skall
703-821-8833; monte@skall.net

New Lyme Law Proposed to Protect Virginia Doctors Treating Lyme Disease
U.S. Physicians Fear Losing Medical License for Treating Lyme Aggressively

(Richmond, VA) - A new bill, introduced in the Virginia House of Delegates by Tom Rust, Delegate, 86th District (R), seeks to protect physicians in Virginia who provide extended antibiotic therapy to patients diagnosed with chronic Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. Currently doctors treating Lyme disease aggressively with long term antibiotics are targeted by medical boards and insurance companies and face losing their license. Lyme disease is the fastest growing infectious disease in the United States today. This disease, caused by the bite of a tick, has reached epidemic levels in many counties in Virginia. Most experts agree that reported cases are likely to represent only a tenth of the actual number of cases.

Delegate Rust introduced this bill to empower physicians to provide effective, desperately needed patient care. “Doctors should be able to treat patients based on their best medical judgment, without fear of retaliation.” Delegate Rust added, “If Lyme disease is untreated or not treated aggressively it can have far-reaching implications - not only for patients’ health but also for healthcare costs, disability compensation and worker productivity. These costs far exceed the expense of paying for therapeutic antibiotics to treat the infection and its symptoms.”

L-R: Bill Merrigan, Claudia Reda, Joy Walker, Mimi Segal, Ben Beard, Monte Skall, Sarah Wiley, Kathy Boileau, Don Boileau

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT: Monte Skall
703-821-8833; monte@skall.net

NATCAPLYME BOARD MEETS WITH CDC REPRESENTATIVES

Washington, D.C., Wednesday, June 25, 2009--Twelve members of the board of the National Capital Lyme and Tick-borne Disease Association met with Dr. Ben Beard from the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) Ft. Collins office and Sarah Wiley from the CDC's Atlanta office to exchange information and discuss their concerns related to Lyme and tick-borne diseases. A planned three-hour meeting extended to nearly four.

Dr. Beard began the meeting with a presentation which included an overview of the organizational structure of the CDC and many statistical charts indicating the increasing cases of Lyme which define the disease as an epidemic. He presented the CDC's seven-part strategic plan for dealing with the disease, which we will make available to you on our website next week. The presentation stretched to nearly two hours, since many board members responded to his invitation to ask questions during his talk.

Board members then presented their concerns during the next two hours, covering the following topics: (1) prevention using the Four Poster technique; (2) CDC website links to IDSA; (3) CDC changes in website information on Lyme testing; (4) distribution of more and balanced public information; (5) problems with Lyme testing; (6) tick testing; (7) misuse of the CDC case definition; (8) consistency of use of terms for ongoing or chronic Lyme; (9) surveillance reporting issues; (10) the need for Lyme disease to become a high priority in research; and (11) issues concerning the use of CDC materials in legal cases.

NatCapLyme responded quickly to the invitation that the CDC extended less than a month ago. The representatives of both groups expressed thanks for the opportunity to have the useful interchange of concerns and information.

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Four hundred walkers and runners turned up in the cool, drizzly morning hours of Saturday, May 16 to support the cause of Lyme disease in the Washington area for the first annual Lyme disease 5K Run/Walk at South Run Park in Springfield, Virginia.

Over ten thousand dollars was raised at the run and online in the weeks prior to the event. Patients, caregivers, and friends wore green shirts and broad smiles as they took to the trail in support of their suffering loved ones in an effort to raise money for educational materials and research.

"We were thrilled to see such a good turnout considering the weather. We are grateful to those patients and volunteers who helped behind the scenes and to those who came to show their support that early in the morning," said Monte Skall, Executive Director of National Capital Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Association.

The Run/Walk was initiated by a group of young ladies who formed a book club 2 years ago. When one of their members, Kristina Ford, age 24, was unable to participate due to chronic and debilitating Lyme disease, the club members decided to raise money to assist her with her numerous medical expenses. When she learned of their desire to help, she selflessly asked that any funds raised be used for the benefit of all patients. "I have heard so many stories, similar to mine, of patients having problems finding doctors willing to treat their disease and the denial of insurance claims. There is an ignorance that runs hand-in-hand with Lyme disease, my goal is to create as much awareness as possible about the severity of the disease and hopefully this will spawn the change of events necessary to help all those suffering from Lyme disease,” said Miss Ford of Sprin gfield Virginia.

The event also featured exhibitors including Mosquito Squad of Clifton Virginia and the Fairfax County Health Department. The latter distributed educational materials and applied tick tattoos with the logo, "Don't get sick by the bite of a tick!" After the run, a special showing of Under Our Skin, a documentary about Lyme disease, was shown at the South Run Recreation Center.



Left to Right: Krista Poppe, Delia Valentine, Katherine Romans, Kristina Ford, Marisa Gitchel, Meghan Yowell and Catie Skibo