Last week our guest speaker, Fiona Richards, a person who had experienced the impact of LYME, gave a presentation that highlighted the challenges facing the many people in our population that suffer from what is very likely LYME, however medical professionals appear to be faced with deregistration if they indicate the person may have LYME.
Australia believes that it can only be acquired overseas, yet blood tests sent to international countries that do LYME testing, have confirmed many instances that the person has the LYME disease, whereas Australian testings claims when they do it, they also get a positive result but state it’s a false positive.
Its clearly a controversial issue, and one that listening to the presenter, gives the impression that acknowledging this as a problem in Australia would create some other issues.
One of our members partners has also faced the same issue, and had to go overseas to be treated for the disease, which was extremely costly, but necessary to allow her to enjoy a good quality of life.
Overall, a very interesting and challenging presentation. Her presentation was supported by the information on Lyme Disease Association of Australia, which make good reading.
It should be noted however, some Australian medical papers indicate it’s a possibility that a person has got LYME in Australia, but more likely symptoms of a problem closely resembling LYME.
A very interesting and thought provoking talk