FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE:
INTERNATIONAL LYME
ORGANIZATION ELECTS NEW PRESIDENT
NEW YEAR WILL BRING INCREASED
LYME DISEASE EDUCATION
Bethesda
MD December, 2003
— The International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) has
elected Steven Phillips, MD, of Ridgefield and Wilton, Connecticut, as its
new president.
Yale-trained, and
with articles published in the American Medical Journal, Dr. Phillips
has been an outspoken advocate for Lyme disease patients. His expert testimony
for the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York has helped to
pass legislation about Lyme disease.
Dr. Phillips takes
over from Dr. Andrea Gaito, Rheumatologist, at a time when Lyme disease
is rapidly becoming the focus of one of the most acrimonious rifts the
medical community has seen since disagreements heralded the beginning
of the AIDS pandemic in the early 1980s. ILADS physicians believe initial
laboratory testing for Lyme is generally poor and that late-stage and
complicated cases of Lyme disease may require long courses of antibiotics
to be treated effectively. Still, other physicians hold to the belief
that Lyme disease is easily diagnosed and quickly treated.
Dr. Phillips says,
“I will see to it that, in the next twelve months, ILADS efforts
contribute to an improvement in the standard of care for Lyme disease
patients. My immediate priority is to release the ILADS consensus guidelines
for the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. ILADS will also expand
our next international medical conference so that both sides of the Lyme
disease debate are objectively and scientifically represented so we can
move toward better patient care.”
For more information
go to www.ilads.org
| CONTACTS |
|
| Barbara
Buchman |
(301)
263–1080 |
| Christi
O’Connor |
(415)
883–2491 |
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