IDSA submits letter to Waxman
07/08/09 17:17 Filed in: Lyme Disease in the news
Things are heating up in Washington DC as the July 30 hearing approaches.
Below is an excerpt from a letter written on June 25, 2009 and sent by the IDSA to US Representative Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee. In it, the IDSA makes clear that it opposes the bill regarding Lyme disease treatment (H.R. 1179), which was recently reintroduced in the House of Representatives.
Here is a partial excerpt:
We believe it is important that Members of Congress who are considering co-sponsorship of H.R. 1179 be fully apprised of IDSA’s view, which is aligned with the broader medical and scientific communities’ view, that the long-term use of antibiotics for the treatment of Lyme disease is unproven and potentially harmful to the patients being treated and to the public’s health (due to the potential creation of drug-resistant organisms).
Further, it is IDSA’s position that no reliable evidence exists that supports the designation of Lyme disease as a chronic disease. Two recent reviews -- one published in the New England Journal of Medicine (N Engl J Med 357:14; October 4, 2007) and the other in the American Journal of Medicine (2008) 121, 562-564 -- give evidence-based assessments of Lyme disease diagnoses and the recommended treatments which substantiate our position.
Below is an excerpt from a letter written on June 25, 2009 and sent by the IDSA to US Representative Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee. In it, the IDSA makes clear that it opposes the bill regarding Lyme disease treatment (H.R. 1179), which was recently reintroduced in the House of Representatives.
Here is a partial excerpt:
We believe it is important that Members of Congress who are considering co-sponsorship of H.R. 1179 be fully apprised of IDSA’s view, which is aligned with the broader medical and scientific communities’ view, that the long-term use of antibiotics for the treatment of Lyme disease is unproven and potentially harmful to the patients being treated and to the public’s health (due to the potential creation of drug-resistant organisms).
Further, it is IDSA’s position that no reliable evidence exists that supports the designation of Lyme disease as a chronic disease. Two recent reviews -- one published in the New England Journal of Medicine (N Engl J Med 357:14; October 4, 2007) and the other in the American Journal of Medicine (2008) 121, 562-564 -- give evidence-based assessments of Lyme disease diagnoses and the recommended treatments which substantiate our position.
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