David Suzuki and Elizabeth May about Lyme Disease in Canada

Lyme TV show with David Suzuki from last night (see blog post "Ticked Off") is online as from today. Dr. McShane, who treats many of us Canadian Lyme patients who are not allowed to get treatment in our own country, is featured, said hubby, who watched since I had to be elsewhere. Very conflicting statements, he said . Exactly what we Lymies have to try and wade through.  I've now watched the online program and emotions have been up and down. 

Who is lying and why?  If patients get better with treatment, what is the problem? Why do people like dr. Wormser, about 22 minutes into the video, still deny that Chronic Lyme disease exists? Does he think we ENJOY being sick?

The Nature of Things: David Suzuki presents "The Mystery of Lyme Disease" 

http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/ID/2411526805/

Some screen grabs, faces and names of people on the conversation for the program (click to enlarge) 

Why we need a national Lyme disease strategy The Hill Times October 7, 2013 After tabling my bill calling for a national Lyme Disease strategy, my office has received hundreds of heart-wrenching messages from Lyme Disease sufferers and their families. Here is a sample, used with the permission of the writer. Please help us raise awareness of this dreadful illness. “Due to my illness I have lost my consulting business which I ran for 14 years. However I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones because my family fully supports me and has made it financially and emotionally possible to regain my health. We have spent over $100,000.00 to regain my health not including lost wages.” - B. Edwards, Abbotsford, British Columbia Please read my latest article in the Hill Times, sign my petition in support of Bill C-442, and call your local Member of Parliament. I know a health policy briefing should touch on all areas of health policy. We have critical issues ahead as we work to protect universal access to top-notch health care, reduce wait-times and drug costs, and meet the growing challenges of an aging population. The deficits in our mental health programs alone could occupy the House of Commons for the fall session. That I write now about Lyme disease is because it is timely and urgent. One of the first private member’s bills slated for second reading in the next session will be Bill C-442. It calls for a National Lyme Disease strategy, and, while I am the author of the bill, I hope it will not be seen as “my bill,” but rather as a bill every Member of Parliament can champion. [Read rest of article...]

The ticks of our lives

TICKS IN CANADA
Dr. Robbin Lindsay, a research scientist with the Public Health Agency of Canada who specializes in zoonotic diseases, says the populations of the blacklegged ticks that carry Lyme disease (sometimes called the deer tick) are growing. 
[Marlene's note: Full article is HERE but the link they have to his video doesn't work any more. The link below gives the text of his video interview, though.]

HOW MANY ARE INFECTED?
Lindsay says it appears that while ticks are spreading, the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi is still low. In some areas of Canada between 10 and 50 percent of blacklegged ticks are now carrying Lyme bacteria. Read more


TICKS COLLECTED TODAY - pictures
Talking to Wendy from Kingston about all the exciting things happening on the Lyme front. For instance, there is a newly created National Lyme and Associated Diseases group in Canada! The domain name has been registered, but the website isn't up yet. Soon, though, soon. 

However, that's not what this blog post is about. Wendy, who has been sick with Lyme disease for 17 years, has been checking outside her house for ticks. Today she dragged a white cloth outside for just ten minutes .... and this is the "harvest" she collected below! 

She has the fabric inside double ziplock bags to be sure they can't escape. Within minutes the ticks started mating inside the baggies! Clearly nothing puts them off and nothing stresses them. 

Wendy took a picture with a Canadian coin (small 10c) to show how tiny the ticks are. And these are adults - you can at least see them where the nymphs are so tiny that they are hard to spot. 

This is scary stuff. These ticks were found in a residential area, in a back yard of an ordinary house.

But, just to freak out some people --- below is a picture I took in 1996 when we were still living in South Africa. The hand belongs to my then 6 year old son, Theo. We were walking around the school area where they had some of the typical large tortoises. The ones around there were around 50 pounds in weight or so and can live for 100 years or longer. Ticks love to bite them. They hide themselves in the neck fold, where the poor tortoises can't reach to get them off. The ticks drink their fill and then drop off the host. This is what Theo picked up - a resting tick, waiting to digest his meal before finding another host. 

What do you think of that size tick then?

NEWS: On Thursday, I have to delegate to the Regional Councillors about Lyme disease. Hope to update as soon as it is done.