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THUNDER BAY – Jennifer Bourgeois doubts that many things will change in the short term for people with Lyme disease despite the official designation of the city as a risk area for Lyme disease.
Her son has been suffering for years from what she is convinced to be Lyme disease, a debilitating disease transmitted by blacklegged ticks.
As tbnewswatch.com revealed for the first time earlier this month, a recent Public Health Ontario statement means local doctors must report any case involving patients with skin rashes over five centimeters, an indicator of the disease. of Lyme.
After Bourgeois's son, now 16 years old, fell suddenly ill in 2015, the doctors here did not diagnose Lyme syndrome, but felt that he was suffering from other conditions .
Her son ends up having a positive test result for Lyme disease, she explained, in US and German laboratories, and the family has found an American doctor who continues to take charge of her treatment.
Today, he continues to take medication, including antibiotics, but according to Bourgeois, the boy's health has improved immensely over the past two years,
In an interview this week with Tbnewswatch, she said she remained concerned about the lack of experience of the medical profession in diagnosing Lyme disease.
When his son became ill, there was no sign of rash, a symptom noted by Bourgeois did not necessarily materialize.
She thinks that naming Thunder Bay as a risk zone will increase general awareness, but is skeptical about the negative impact on local doctors.
"None of our doctors are literate with Lyme disease and most of them are closed to the idea that Lyme disease is a disease other than arthritis," she said.
Screening for the disease, she says, is also problematic in Canada.
"Our test only has the ability to check some strains, and that is unfortunately where the blockage is."
Bourgeois believes, however, that the diagnosis of Lyme disease remains a universal challenge.
"It's not just Canadian doctors, it's a very controversial disease, it's a doctor who has the knowledge of Lyme disease that you need when you think you might be suffering from the disease." Lyme disease.L'me literacy is the important part. "
A spokesman for the Thunder Bay District Health Unit said earlier that information about the disease would "begin to arrive" because of the designation of risk zone, allowing officials to get an idea of the "danger zone". actual extent of Lyme disease in this region.
The director of environmental health of TBDHU, Lee Sieswerda, is pleased with the extensive review and requirement of mandatory reporting, noting that in recent years, "anecdotally, we know that & # 39; A large number of people have reported to their doctor a significant rash. "
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