Delaware lawmakers unveil plan to fight Lyme disease
WMDT, Dec. 10, 2015:
By Greg Guidone
State leaders say with their new four-pronged approach, they now have the beginnings of a battle plan to take down ticks and Lyme Disease in Delaware.
Unveiled Thursday at Legislative Hall, lawmakers say these initiatives aim to educate the public and doctors while eliminating the financial burden associated with Lyme.
“We’ve had families who have been bankrupt. We’ve had families who had to move out of Delaware, and we just can’t have that happen.” Senator Ernie Lopez tells 47 ABC. READ MORE.
Wow!!! I can hardly believe this is happening. Glory be!!! Are we really beginning to get some awareness? I really want to see that tick control board. There is a mosquito control board in California. It is behind the scenes, but is very powerful. California, left without this mosquito control board board was inundated with mosquitos, and disease. I don’t know what the mosquito control board does technically, but growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I rarely saw a mosquito. And insurance companies having to cooperate, and educating doctors. If this all comes together, Delaware, tiny as it is, could become a model for the rest of the country and the world. Am I dreaming? Could we beat this one??? One problem I see, is Delaware thinking they are an exception. Doctors throughout the US, Canada, UK, Australia all need to become educated, and all insurance companies need to get on board. That battle still has to be fought and won.
The metro area of the Twin Cities, MN (Minneapolis, St. Paul and suburbs) have a mosquito control board and they also do some tick research. We have our fair share of both skeeters and ticks in this state. Outside the cities, I think it’s up to each town whether they want to spray. I don’t know who does tick research outside the metro. Maybe the Department Of Health or State Universities? I hope someone is tracking ticks in rural MN. I was bit by a deer tick in a county that’s supposed to be low risk for Lyme. I think the numbers are inaccurate and outdated.
I hope DE succeeds in getting insurance to expand Lyme coverage. We have a similar law here but it doesn’t define Lyme (makes no mention of acute or chronic) and the insurance companies sued so it was never really enforced.
Doctor education and awareness is the biggest problem I see. Even if insurance will cover tests and treatment, what good is it if you can’t find a doctor willing to prescribe it.
What good news! Hopefully, any attempt to eradicate the ticks will be accomplished by organic ingredients instead of chemicals. I have our property treated by a formula that only has 3% chemical. Breeding and releasing opossums is another safe method of tick control.