FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE:
LYME DISEASE VICTIMS
TO PICKET INTERNATIONAL LYME CONFERENCE
PROTEST AGAINST LOCK OUT
OF LYME PATIENTS’ AND DOCTORS’ VIEWS
New
York City, NY August 14, 2002
— Voices
of Lyme (VOL), a national organization representing chronic Lyme disease
patients, will conduct a protest demonstration at the IX International Conference
on Lyme Borreliosis and Other Tick-borne Diseases, August 20,
starting at 11:00 AM at The Grand Hyatt New York. The
VOL says conference organizers have excluded medical experts with divergent
viewpoints on the extent and treatability of Lyme disease, which is transmitted
by tick bites and strikes up to160,000 Americans annually.
“Doctors are
traveling from all over the world to come to NYC to learn all about Lyme
disease, yet this conference is excluding a whole segment of the disease,
and most importantly, of patients, those with chronic Lyme disease,”
said VOL spokesman Eva Haughie. “Our very existence is being denied
by exclusion of our doctors and our labs. We need to raise our voices and
our picket signs and remind conference organizers that they may control
the science inside, but outside in the real world, people suffering from
chronic Lyme disease are not going to be silenced by their censorship.”
“The committee
organizing the conference is giving the impression that they are not open
to discussing alternative, scientific viewpoints regarding chronic, recurring
Lyme,” said Dr. Dan Cameron of the International Lyme and Associated
Disease Society (ILADS), an organization of respected Lyme researchers.
“Those of us who believe, and are prepared to present extensive evidence,
that Lyme is widespread and requires lengthy treatment have seen our abstracts
rejected and are unable to present evidence gathered in a traditional, scientific
manner. ILADS has been developing practice-treatment guidelines to help
physicians recognize and treat chronic Lyme, and this valuable material
has been barred.”
Lyme disease is caused
by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted through
the bite of an infected tick. It is often difficult to diagnose and to treat.
Symptoms include headache, fever, muscle and joint aches, severe fatigue
and malaise and sometimes, the “bulls-eye” rash. According to
the CDC, approximately 16,000 new cases of Lyme are reported in the U.S.
each year, but many experts believe 90 percent of Lyme infections are not
reported. Evidence is also growing that the standard four-week cycle of
antibiotic treatment is ineffective, and that the disease requires antibiotic
therapy for longer periods of time.
Dr. Cameron has encouraged
authors of rejected abstracts to submit them to ILADS for publication in
a booklet that will be distributed independently at the conference. An information
center has been set up in The Grand Hyatt by IGeneX, Inc., a prominent California-based
Lyme research laboratory, where ILADS will present its data.
“There are powerful,
persuasive and well-supported opposing viewpoints on Lyme. We have medical
evidence showing many cases of Lyme go undiagnosed and that, those which
are diagnosed, need to be treated as long as there are clinical symptoms”
said Dr. Nick Harris, President and CEO of IGeneX, whose approval to exhibit
at the conference was abruptly withdrawn with no reason given. “Unless
these facts are understood, many patients will go on needlessly suffering
from this debilitating disease.”
ABOUT THE VOICES OF LYME (VOL)
The Voices of Lyme
is a grass roots activism organization representing thousands of patients
with chronic Lyme disease. It works toward focusing public attention on
issues of chronic Lyme patients.
ABOUT ILADS
The mission of the
International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) is to create
an interdisciplinary forum for health science professionals where they can
communicate their collective wealth of knowledge, as accumulated from their
many years of experience in the management of Lyme and associated diseases.
ABOUT IGENEX
IGeneX,
Inc. is a
specialty immunology laboratory and research facility, providing personalized
service to over 1,000 private practice physicians, hospitals, and other
clinical reference laboratories throughout the U.S. and Canada. The laboratory
also functions as a pilot site for diagnostic manufacturers in the introduction
of new assays, and has extensive collaborative agreements with multiple
research groups.
For further information
regarding the protest, please contact:
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