For Past Five Years PA Has Reported Most Lyme Disease Cases Nationwide / Disease is Often Underreported / All 67 PA Counties Now Have Deer Ticks that Carry Lyme Disease
Washington DC- Ahead of Memorial Day weekend, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) announced that he is backing legislation that will better coordinate federal efforts to combat Lyme disease. The legislation, the Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act of 2015, is set to be introduced by Senator Blumenthal (D-CT) in early June, and will seek to better coordinate federal efforts to address Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. The legislation will also encourage the development of better diagnostic tests, support surveillance and reporting efforts, promote prevention of tick-borne diseases, and establish research objectives to determine the long-term course of Lyme disease in order to effectively evaluate different treatment methods.
“Families across Pennsylvania will have cookouts this weekend and it’s important to be mindful of the threat of tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease,” Senator Casey said. “This legislation is a commonsense effort to better coordinate the research being done on Lyme Disease and determine the best ways to prevent it.”
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