MEPs have today adopted, for the first time, a resolution on Lyme disease, or Lyme borreliosis, an infectious bacterial disease in humans and in various species of domestic and wild animals, caused transmitted to humans through the bite of a tick.
Lyme borreliosis is the most common zoonotic disease in Europe, with an estimated one million cases, which are expanding geographically.
The resolution adopted by MEPs today calls for on the European Commission to draw up a plan to combat Lyme disease, to accompany mandatory reporting in all Member States, better exchange of best practice, additional funding of the methods for diagnosing and treating Lyme disease and the promotion of research efforts.
Frédérique Ries MEP, co-author of the resolution, commented after its adoption today;
“For the first time, the European Parliament has adopted a resolution on Lyme disease, which is timely given the growing risk this disease poses to Europeans. We need a European plan to tackle this growing continent wide health problem. ”
“Treatment gaps mean that one million Europeans are struggling to receive the treatment they deserve, in the face of an overly conservative medical response. We denounce the fact that so many patients are being let down; they are entitled to effective treatment, including 100% reliable serological testing.”
“Europe must continue to fund research on "Lyme" because its diagnosis is complex and it takes various clinical forms.”
ENDS
A number of Irish MEPs have welcomed a European Parliament vote calling for better diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease.
Therapeutic wandering
“There is no European consensus regarding the treatment, the diagnosis and the detection of Lyme disease,” the resolution pointed out.
“From country to country, the diagnostic and treatment guidelines prove to be very different, forcing some sufferers to undertake a form of ‘therapeutic wandering’, crossing Europe to find solutions adapted to their infection,” Rivasi explained.
Lyme disease (Borreliosis) (debate)
Motion for a resolution
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2F%2FEP%2F%2FTEXT+MOTION+B8-2018-0514+0+DOC+XML+V0%2F%2FEN&fbclid=IwAR1c7LBdV1wEWaOCfVVo4Zu_Tp4DZqHlGPEz-1LouOKf_H41pEQ791daC6k
European Parliament
2014-2019
TEXTS ADOPTED
Provisional edition
P8_TA-PROV(2018)0465
Lyme disease (Borreliosis)
European Parliament resolution of 15 November 2018 on Lyme disease (Borreliosis)
(2018/2774(RSP))
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2F%2FEP%2F%2FTEXT+TA+P8-TA-2018-0465+0+DOC+XML+V0%2F%2FEN&language=EN&fbclid=IwAR2PSFRPSH8D6BbkBYr9qcv5DL-Brwr0x7AGsoNqzHo6k_HK2JAlldOOEM8
'A. whereas the right to health is a fundamental right recognised by the European Treaties,
in particular in Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
(TFEU);
B. whereas Lyme disease, or Lyme borreliosis, is a bacterial disease caused by the
bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, and is transmitted to humans through the bite of a tick,
which itself is contaminated by the bacterium; whereas Lyme disease is an infectious
disease in humans and in various species of domestic and wild animals;
C. whereas Lyme borreliosis is the most common zoonotic disease in Europe, with an
estimated 650 000 - 850 000 cases and a higher incidence in Central Europe; whereas
infection occurs in the spring-summer semester (from April to October), and borreliosis
1 OJ L 268, 3.10.1998, p. 1.
is recognised as an occupational disease for farmers, forestry workers and field
researchers in the countries in which it is present;
D. whereas infected ticks and the disease seem to be expanding geographically, with
instances now also being recorded at higher altitudes and latitudes, as well as in towns
and cities; whereas the suspected causes are, among other things, changes in land use,
inter alia through the afforestation of low-quality land or the expansion of invasive
plants, climate change, global warming, excessive humidity and other activities related
to human behaviour;
E. whereas there is no European consensus on the treatment, diagnosis and screening of
Lyme disease and national practices vary;
F. whereas a bite by an infected tick and the symptoms of Lyme disease can go unnoticed
or even in some cases be asymptomatic, which can sometimes lead to severe
complications and permanent damage similar to that of a chronic disease, in particular
when the patient is not promptly diagnosed;
G. whereas more reliable early diagnosis of Lyme disease will significantly reduce the
number of later-stage cases, thus improving the quality of life of patients; whereas it
will also reduce the financial burden of the disease, leading to savings of approximately
EUR 330 million in healthcare costs already during the first 5 years, according to
managers of the DualDur EU research project;
H. whereas many patients are neither promptly diagnosed nor have access to suitable
treatment; whereas they feel deprived and ignored by the public authorities and some
continue to have persistent symptoms that can lead to chronic disease;
I. whereas there is currently no vaccine available for Lyme disease;
J. whereas the true burden of Lyme borreliosis in the EU is unknown due to the lack of
statistics on this disease and the very wide variety of applied case definitions, laboratory
methods used and surveillance systems;
K. whereas there is no ICD code separation between early-stage and late-stage Lyme
disease; whereas there are no individual ICD codes for the different late-stage Lyme
disease symptoms;
L.
whereas the ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society) treatment
practice guidelines differ from those of IDSA (Infectious Diseases Society of America)
and these differences between the two approaches to the disease also have an impact on
treatment practices in the EU;
M. whereas a profound understanding of the mechanism which turns Lyme disease into a
chronic disease is lacking;
N. whereas health professionals have been sounding the alarm about this health issue for
nearly a decade, as have patients’ associations and whistle-blowers;
O. whereas, although well known to medical science, Lyme disease is still underdiagnosed,
in particular because of the difficulties encountered in the detection of symptoms and
the absence of appropriate diagnostic tests;
P. whereas the screening tests used for Lyme disease are not always able to provide
accurate results, one such example being the Elisa test which only detects one infection
at a time;
Q. whereas many Europeans are constantly exposed to Lyme borreliosis through their
professional activities (farmers, forestry workers, researchers and students carrying out
field research such as biologists, geologists, surveyors or archaeologists);
R. whereas the medical profession often follows outdated recommendations on Lyme
disease that do not take sufficient account of research developments;'
