Preventative approach on Lyme Disease highlighted

For Immediate Release
January 19, 2016

WINDSOR – Preventative and proactive measures are key to taking the bite out of Lyme Disease.

That was one of the key messages delivered in Windsor today as the Legislative Finance Committee continued its pre-budget hearings. Cheryl Abbatte from the Sun County Lyme Awareness & Support Group reminded committee members that much work is needed in known Lyme endemic areas.

“A walk in the park should not be a debilitating experience,” Abbatte told the committee.

Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett is a member of the Finance Committee and in 2014 introduced a Private Members Bill calling on the government to establish a framework with regard to zoonotic and infectious diseases, including Lyme.

“Surveillance, signage, brochures and education will go a long way to help protect the public,” Barrett said, whose bill received all-party support in the Ontario Legislature. A committee is running by the government to establish the framework Barrett called for.

 

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