LETTER TO FEDERAL HEALTH MINISTER – CLINICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON LYME DISEASE IN AUSTRALIA
YOUR ADDRESS
DATE
The Hon. Tanya Plibersek, MP
Minister for Health and Ageing
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Dear Ms Plibersek,
RE: CLINICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON LYME DISEASE IN AUSTRALIA
I refer to my previous letter to you regarding Lyme Disease in Australia. As you know, this is a very important issue to me, and I am very concerned about the failure of the relevant authorities in Australia regarding diagnosis and treatment of this disease. Friends and colleagues of mine have recently received a letter signed by Ms Sandra Gebbie, A/g Assistant Secretary, Health Emergency Management Branch. In that letter, Ms Gebbie advises:
“The Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer is convening a Clinical Advisory Committee on Lyme Disease in Australia to provide advice on the evidence for Lyme Disease in Australia, diagnostic testing, treatments and research requirements. The committee will also provide advice on the most appropriate ways to disseminate information to health professionals and the general public.”
This is a wonderful development. It is great to see the Commonwealth taking the lead in such an important national health issue. I thank you and the members of your Department for your role in relation to this. Could I please raise the following points regarding the Clinical Advisory Committee?
1. There is of course already ample evidence of the existence of Lyme Disease in Australia (Given that Mackerras (1959), Carley and Pope (1962) and Wills and Barry (1994) all managed to grow and isolate Borrelia from Australian native animals and only one study has not been able to isolate and grow Borrelia in Australia, in fairness, the evidence overwhelmingly supports the existence of Borrelia in Australian ticks.)
2. Despite this preponderance of evidence, strangely there is division amongst the medical profession. I am concerned that the advisory committee must include representation of the senior members of the medical profession who are convinced by the preponderance of scientific evidence that the disease exists here, and who are well aware from their clinical experience of the suffering caused by the failure to diagnose and appropriately treat this disease.
3. Indeed, regardless of whether the disease exists here, Australians are great travellers and wherever they caught it, many Australians and their families are caught in a cycle of suffering and mistreatment because of the ignorance amongst the profession.
4. In addition to Lyme Disease, it is very important that attention be given to typical co-infections such as babesiosis and bartonella (an Australian man died of locally acquired babesiosis last year), which greatly complicate the treatment of Lyme Disease
I trust that the results of the work of the Clinical Advisory Committee will include
• Better education for Australian health professionals so that they know Lyme Disease exists and treat it before it debilitates people
• Readily available appropriate and ongoing treatment for those suffering from the disease and co-infections, including those with the ongoing chronic form of the disease
• More research into locally occurring Lymes disease.
Yours sincerely,
YOUR NAME
(you may wish to forward a copy of this to your local federal member, seeking that they do their job and represent your interests to the Federal Minister)
Lyme disease seems to be the disease that the medical profession doesn’t want to exist. Surely the number of proven sufferers says otherwise. Let’s spread the word and encourage the medical profession to test more vigorously for Lyme and its co-infections.
Of course I agree! It takes a lot of energy to overcome resistance to paradigm change, especially with a conservative profession and a large established bureaucracy, in an environment where there is resistance to long term use of antibiotics. Unless you are a farm animal. Or suffering from acne. Thanks for visiting.