Raising Awareness
Tick-related illnesses are the fastest growing type of infectious disease, but also one of the least understood affecting the state of Illinois. In the US, the number of reported cases has doubled in the last decade to as much as 590,000 new cases of tick-borne illnesses per year. The most common is Lyme disease, transmitted by a bite from an infected tick. Incidents are 1.5 times more common than breast cancer and 6 times more common than HIV. Researchers have found that Lyme disease costs the U. S. healthcare system between 712 million and 1.3 billion USD per year.
Illinois Lyme Association (ILA) is an emerging non-profit whose board members have been greatly impacted by tick-borne diseases. The Association is working with individuals and families affected, the parks districts, the research community, and the medical providers to implement systemic changes to reduce the frequency and impact of vector-borne diseases.
The need to bring awareness and education is imperative as many in our communities are at risk of infection. There are many reports of people in Illinois parks being infected, solidifying the importance of education. It is essential with the rise of the incidents in this state that we educate our communities and Park districts on the risks and how to protect themselves and their families. When detected in its early stage, Lyme disease is treatable with an appropriate course of antibiotic therapy. If left undetected and untreated, the bacteria replicate, and become chronic. Treatment for chronic Lyme disease is prolonged and complex. Patients often require years of intensive conventional and alternative therapies to fight the infection, recover immune function, and gain strength.
Illinois Lyme Association provides the public with information on protection, prevention and the risks associated with tick bites and how natural resources are affecting the increase in the prevalence of ticks. Our website contains valuable resources, including everything you need to know about Lyme and tick-borne diseases and how to avoid them. We also host support group meetings, events in the community, and work with individuals and families to provide education and support as they go through the experience of living with Lyme disease.
ILA works with researchers and those involved with natural resources to understand the incidence and prevalence of ticks. ILA works with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, including on a signage campaign. This effort got signage posted several Illinois State parks with tick prevention and warning information. We will continue working with the research community to help residents of Illinois to understand the interconnection of the land, water, and wildlife habitat and the prevalence of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. Studies have also shown that there are specific ornamental plants that serve as attractants and harbor large amounts of ticks, such as the Japanese Barberry. Illinois native plants that serve as attractants should be an additional area of research.
ILA in partnership with the Illinois Natural History Survey researchers, we have been successful at progressing the Illinois Department of Public Health to initiate the first ever active surveillance efforts in the State of Illinois. Researchers are beginning to surveil the incidence and prevalence of tick populations. Performing tick drags at state parks and private and public lands will provide a better understanding of what tick pathogens are in the State of Illinois and will be vital information for an education campaign. Illinois Lyme Association sees it as imperative to get this information to our Public, Park Districts, Health Departments and Physicians. This will aide in quicker diagnosis and better quality of life for those dealing with Lyme disease.
We must bring together the interconnected systems of people and habitats to help both thrive. As more wilderness is developed for human use, and where deer are endemic and predators less, the stage is set for ticks to rapidly increase in population. And its not just the increasing number of dear: the Allan Lab at the University of Illinois has conducted studies proving that songbirds and small rodents or mammals have just as much of an impact on the spread of the tick.
The Illinois Lyme Association has been the facilitator to bring the stakeholders like our federal and state Legislators, University of Illinois, Prairie Research Institute, Illinois Natural History Survey, Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the Illinois State Medical Society to the table to begin collaborating on our efforts. ILA sees this as a critical union necessary to facilitate the protection of the lives of Illinois citizens and those who visit our great state.
In 2018, our Lauryn Russell Lyme Disease Prevention and Protection Law was passed to protect medical providers treating Lyme disease and to establish a task force assisting the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) with a public awareness and provider education program. ILA is well represented on the task force as our Executive Director, Jennifer Russell, and Board Member Maureen White are both members. We are very hopeful to make great progress in coordination with IDPH.
On August 12, 2019, Governor Pritzker signed into law a mandate for state regulated insurance and Medicaid plans to cover longer term antibiotic therapy for tick-borne illness. This was a huge success!! These two laws are the beginning of great strides in Illinois!
Also, we held our first Lyme disease Symposium, where federal and state legislators, researchers, nurses, and physicians all gathered to collaborate our knowledge and efforts to work towards a solution to this growing problem.
Illinois Lyme Association is just beginning. We have many goals that we know can be achieved in our near future. Collaborating with medical schools to begin a more comprehensive teaching on tick-borne diseases and to provide grants to medical students, encouraging the next generation of providers to be willing to take on the complex treatments of tick-borne infections. We plan to work in partnership with the Illinois State Medical Society to provide continuous education classes to established providers and clinicians. We will begin a children’s education campaign to be taught in schools. Our next generation is at the highest risk bracket for the occurrence of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. Finally, we will host annual conferences in central Illinois to bring together the smartest and most innovative people in the fight against Lyme. This is how we will grow and encourage new concepts and ideas to move research along.
With your help, all these goals will be easily achievable. Illinois Lyme Association is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization, 83-2564041. Therefore, any donations are 100% tax deductible. Donations may be made through our website, www.illymeassociation.org, PayPal at ILA PAYPAL or by check to P.O. Box 74, Aledo, IL 61231. We also can take stock, IRA or DAF fund donations. We greatly appreciate you support of our efforts to move Illinois forward.
601 SE 19th Avenue, P.O. Box 74, Aledo, Illinois 61231
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