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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, Lyme disease cases are on the rise in the State; 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 Centers for Disease Control
15 and Prevention (CDC) each year; as it is estimated that only
16 one out of every 10 cases of Lyme disease is reported, the
17 actual number of diagnosed cases is closer to 476,000
18 annually; 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, with infection rates having doubled from 3.74 cases per
2 100,000 to 7.95 cases per 100,000 since 1991, indicating that
3 the disease is one of the fastest-growing infectious diseases
4 in the United States and the western world; and
5 WHEREAS, Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose as
6 diagnostic tests analyze blood samples to look for the
7 presence of antibodies, an immune response that may not be
8 detectable in the blood until many weeks after the initial
9 tick bite and infection; and
10 WHEREAS, Up to 60% of acute cases of Lyme disease are
11 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 antibiotic 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, and many are unable to continue working;
10 and
11 WHEREAS, Public funding for Lyme disease research receives
12 less than 2% of the funding allocated for researching West
13 Nile virus and less than 0.2% of the funding that HIV/AIDS
14 research receives, despite Lyme disease having annual case
15 counts that dwarf those of both diseases; therefore, be it
16 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
17 HUNDRED FOURTH 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 State Board 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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