Essex MP Tracey Ramsey calls the federal government's draft framework for Lyme disease a complete betrayal of doctors and patients who are trying to improve testing and treatment.
Now that the temperature is consistently above freezing, more people will be at risk of tick bites and Lyme disease, a debilitating illness that has a wide-range of symptoms.
It is carried by the black-legged deer tick and is common in southern Ontario parks, such as Point Pelee National Park. Ramsey points out with the current promotion by Parks Canada underway to celebrate the country's 150th anniversary, more people are expected to visit increasing their risk of infection.
She says the framework was supposed to improve care for Lyme disease patients, but it came up short.
"It kept in line with exact same treatment options that were available. It didn't take into account any of the scientific research that was brought forward. It didn't reflect what the doctors that are Lyme literate and what they were saying," she says.
Not only does Lyme disease carry symptoms that may mirror other illnesses like multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia, but many doctors have not been trained to find it, and the method of testing is not reliable.
"The testing that we have is often producing false negatives. It will only pick up Lyme in 40% of patients who are tested," says Ramsey. "In Europe, they have tests that pick up 80% in patients that are tested."
That means many patients give up on treatment in Canada.
"I received a call from a woman who feels that she potentially has Lyme Disease. She's had to go to the U.S.," Ramsey says. "This story repeats itself over and over where people are paying thousands to tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars in the U.S., first of all, to be properly diagnosed, and second of all to receive the treatment."
Ramsey, surrounded by patients suffering from the illness, announced her concerns at a news conference Tuesday on Parliament Hill.
