A significant research effort into Lyme disease in Manitoba is clearly needed

I met today with Elizabeth Wood and Jacob (Jack) Suderman. Both have chronic forms of Lyme disease and need ongoing treatment for it. By history both acquired their Lyme disease from exposure to tick bites near the Red River in southern Manitoba, quite close to a region in northern Minnesota known to have had a number of Lyme disease cases.

The identification of 5 new cases of Lyme disease in 2005 means that it is very important that we now have a significant effort in research to understand this disease in Manitoba, its transmission and its treatment.

This disease is caused by an organism which is a spirochete, a bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi. It can be cured if identified and treated early. If it becomes chronic it may need ongoing treatment. Because of the importance of early identification and quick and appropriate treatment, we need to be able to deal with Lyme disease in Manitoba better than we are now. This is why research is needed.

Interestingly, Elizabeth reports that the tick population in her area of southern Manitoba was dramatically reduced when there were more wild turkeys in the area to feed on the ticks. Such observations may be important in identifying ways to reduce tick populations and reduce the potential for infection by ticks.

Both Elizabeth Wood and Jack Suderman expressed concern that the drug they need for treatment of their Lyme disease - bicillin - in not covered by pharmacare. For a while, as a result, Jack had to go off the drug, and his disease got much worse. Surely it is less costly to have drugs like bicillin covered by pharmacare when needed for Lyme disease, than to have people like Jack and Elizabeth spend time in hospital because they can't afford the drugs that would have kept them well and out of hospital.

It should be noted that it is believed that the bacteria causing Lyme disease can only be transmitted by deer ticks and not by wood ticks. This is another facet of the disease which may need to be looked at very carefully to be absolutely sure this is the case.

[April 2010: Kathleen Craang has presented new information which suggests some people diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis may in fact have Lyme disease. More work is needed before this can be confirmed.]