Experts say doctors lack knowledge of Lyme disease

The president of Canada's Lyme disease foundation and a British Columbia doctor say the medical community often fails to recognize Lyme disease and New Brunswick isn't the only province where patients are struggling.

A Riverview woman is circulating a petition asking the New Brunswick Health Department to change its guidelines for diagnosing and treating Lyme disease.

Cathy Smith was misdiagnosed after being bitten by a tick at Fundy National Park six years ago. Her family doctor sent her to a psychiatrist, but she was eventually diagnosed with Lyme disease by an expert in B.C.

• FROM JUNE 13, 2006: Woman says doctors are ignoring Lyme disease

Jim Wilson of the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation says Smith's story is common, and he blames the medical community for failing to recognize the disease.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that can be transmitted to humans via tick bites. Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and skin rashes. If it's not treated, the infection can spread to the heart and nervous system.

Wilson launched the foundation in 2001, after his two children were diagnosed with the bacterial infection in British Columbia. Wilson was also infected in the early 1990s while he was visiting Nova Scotia.

He is convinced Lyme disease is a big problem across Canada, and that people are being misdiagnosed or not treated for a disease that can be dealt with through antibiotics. "It's not just in New Brunswick. There's a resistance Canada-wide on behalf of the medical authorities to properly recognize the illness. And why exactly that is, it's hard to say."

Canadian lab tests are unreliable, and the guidelines for treating Lyme disease aren't effective, Wilson says. He is meeting with Health Canada officials later this month to discuss new guidelines and is pushing for the establishment of a Lyme disease research centre in Canada.

Professor and medical doctor Ernie Murakami agrees much more has to be done to educate the medical community about Lyme disease, which is his specialty.

"It is a fairly new disease and doctors are not trained on it," he said. "It is probably the most infectious disease in North America and our medical schools are not really keeping up to date. I have medical students in residence and their education on Lyme disease is very minimal."