Mr. Vedan has recently written a letter to The Morning Star regarding lyme disease.
Although the letter makes many points, I will keep this short and to the point and just reference the one regarding B.C. Medical in general, and a “mainstream” medical doctors not supporting the testing and diagnosis of lyme disease.
This is absolutely incorrect, and the very opposite has been the case now for many years.
The actual facts can be found on the B.C. Medical web page, copied in part below:
“February 29, 2008, recently there have been inaccurate and misleading reports on lyme disease and the method for diagnosing this disease in B.C.”
Here are the facts:
Lyme disease is an illness caused by the bacterium, borrelia burgdorferi, which can be spread through the bite of certain types of ticks.
In B.C., less than one per cent of the more than 4,600 ticks tested carry this bacterium, and cases of Lyme disease here remain rare.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control monitors the province for Lyme disease, and provides public alerts and information to physicians on the risks, signs, and symptoms of the disease. It also offers state-of-the-art testing to assist doctors and patients with accurate diagnosis.
Any British Columbian concerned about symptoms or exposure to lyme disease can access diagnostic tests, publicly covered under the Medical Services Plan.
Lyme disease should be diagnosed through a clinical evaluation of the patient’s symptoms and risk of exposure to infected ticks. A blood test may also be administered (supported by laboratory testing by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control), but this should not be interpreted in the absence of a clinical diagnosis.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control laboratory recommends a two-tiered approach to lyme disease testing.
First, blood samples are screened with a sensitive enzyme immunoassay (EIA) test. Then, positive or suspicious results must be confirmed with a highly specific western blot test before lyme disease is positively identified.
This approach is also recommended by the Association of State and Territorial Public Health Laboratory Directors and the U.S. Center for Disease Control.
More at www.bccdc.ca/resourcematerials/newsandalerts/healthalerts/2008HealthAlerts/LymeDiseaseBC.htm
David Lukey
Coldstream
