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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Lyme disease is a growing national public health
3 crisis; and
4 WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Department of Public
5 Health, cases are on the rise in Illinois; and
6 WHEREAS, Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by
7 several different strains of bacteria that are carried and
8 spread by ticks; and
9 WHEREAS, Those who are bitten by ticks and subsequently
10 become infected with Lyme disease suffer from fever, fatigue,
11 joint pain, and skin rashes and, in the most severe cases, can
12 be afflicted by serious joint and nervous system problems; and
13 WHEREAS, In the United States, 35,000 to 45,000 cases of
14 Lyme disease are reported to the Federal Centers for Disease
15 Control and Prevention (CDC) each year; the actual number of
16 diagnosed cases is closer to 476,000 annually as it is
17 estimated that only one out of every ten cases of Lyme disease
18 is reported; and
19 WHEREAS, Since the late 20th century, there has been a
20 dramatic increase in the Lyme disease infection rate each
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1 year; Lyme disease infection rates have doubled since 1991
2 from 3.74 cases per 100,000 to 7.95 cases per 100,000; Lyme
3 disease is one of the fastest-growing infectious diseases in
4 the United States and the western world; and
5 WHEREAS, Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose; diagnostic
6 tests analyze blood samples to look for the presence of
7 antibodies, an immune response that may not be detectable in
8 the blood until many weeks after the initial tick bite and
9 infection; and
10 WHEREAS, Up to 60 percent of acute cases of Lyme disease
11 are misdiagnosed; and
12 WHEREAS, Those who are diagnosed with the disease early
13 and prescribed sufficient quantities of antibiotics may
14 recover quickly; and
15 WHEREAS, If the diagnosis is delayed or individuals are
16 treated with insufficient antibiotics therapy, many experience
17 late-stage symptoms that become chronic; and
18 WHEREAS, A diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease for those who
19 are not cured by antibiotics and who continue to suffer the
20 apparent effects of the disease is controversial; and
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1 WHEREAS, The newest research seemingly validates the
2 diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease and suggests that heretofore
3 unknown bacterial persister cells remain dormant in the body,
4 evading antibiotics and the immune system, before reinfecting
5 the individual after the standard course of antibiotics has
6 been taken; and
7 WHEREAS, Those who suffer from chronic Lyme disease
8 experience terrible symptoms and often have difficulty finding
9 treatment or answers; many are unable to continue working; and
10 WHEREAS, Public funding for Lyme disease research receives
11 less than two percent of the funding allocated for researching
12 West Nile virus and less than 0.2 percent of the funding that
13 HIV/AIDS research receives, despite Lyme disease having annual
14 case counts that dwarf those of both diseases; therefore, be
15 it
16 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
17 HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18 we urge the federal government to allocate more funding toward
19 finding a cure for the devastating and increasingly prevalent
20 public health crisis that is Lyme disease; and be it further
21 RESOLVED, That we encourage the Illinois Department of
22 Education to begin health education to prevent tick bites for
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1 children who represent the highest risk group for tick-borne
2 diseases; and be it further
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