THUNDER BAY -- A Thunder Bay woman whose young son suffers from symptoms of Lyme disease says she is "absolutely thrilled" that the federal government is investing in research.
On Tuesday, Health Minister Jane Philpott announced up to $4 million to establish a Lyme disease research network with the aim of improving diagnosis and treatment.
Jennifer Bourgeois's 14-year-old child is under the care of a doctor in the United States. She has been advocating for more support from the health care system, and for education and training on Lyme disease for medical professionals, saying that there is a shortage of Lyme-literate physicians in North America.
Lyme disease is transmitted to humans through bites from blacklegged ticks that carry the bacteria.
In addition to providing research funding, Ottawa released the Federal Framework on Lyme Disease, which encompasses surveillance, guidelines and best practices, and education and awareness. The government says progress in these areas will be reported on an ongoing basis.
On learning of the announcement, Bourgeois told Tbnewswatch "I have shivers and I'm shaking...I just can't even believe it."
Bourgeois said she was aware that the government was working on the issue, but that she had been skeptical. "There's only a couple of countries in the world that recognize Lyme disease as an illness, and hopefully that's where we're headed. That's absolutely amazing."
Lyme disease has been a nationally notifiable disease since 2009. It means it has been identified by the federal government and all provinces as a priority for monitoring and control.
While she welcomes the new federal action plan, Bourgeois said she hopes the government and the medical profession will "put their money where their mouths are and they're gonna fight this battle because it's not an easy one."
Doctors, she said, need to come to realize that four weeks of antibiotic treatment doesn't necessarily succeed with Lyme disease, as her son's case has demonstrated.
She added that physicians also need to understand that just because a patient has not responded to antibiotics, it does not mean they must be suffering from something other than Lyme.
