Re: “B.C. needs to move ahead on Lyme disease,” June 18.
As an undergraduate student who has focused the majority of my research on Lyme disease during the past two years, I have been alarmed and disgusted by the lack of proper care and treatment for Lyme disease patients across Canada.
I am happy that there are others, especially medical professionals, who understand this issue is of growing concern. Now that we are understanding there has been such under-reporting of Lyme disease cases, we can focus our medical efforts on providing treatment for these patients.
I was shocked when I read that the Complex Chronic Disease Program’s treatment for Lyme disease was cognitive behavioural therapy. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by a spirochete bacteria. Therefore, the correct treatment would be antibiotics, not CBT.
Lyme disease is not a mental illness, so why would one administer CBT to treat it? When you look at the scientific literature about Lyme disease (what small amount there is), it is clear that early antibiotic intervention is the proper treatment to improve the condition of Lyme disease patients.
As Gwen Barlee said in her article: “Patients with Lyme disease deserve better.”
Emma Wilson-Pease
Victoria
