URGENT: Your Help Needed for Inspector General Investigation

TO: Lyme Disease Advocates & Patients  FROM: Lyme Disease Association, Inc. Pat Smith, President, 8-15-19 RE: Urgent & Immediate Help Needed to Investigate Information Which Could Lead to Helping to Solve Tick-Borne Diseases Problem ISSUE: The debate over the prevalence of Lyme disease and whether it exists in a chronic form has raged for decades. Kris Newby’s well-researched book, “Bitten,” provides documented evidence that the properties of the Lyme pathogen itself and its ally, the tick, appear to be part of our nation’s biowarfare studies. The suspicions of disease sufferers, their advocates, and treating physicians deserve investigation.

• Change how tick-borne diseases are viewed.
• Change attitudes about patients.
• Have an impact on treatments.
• Have an impact on tick control.
• Lead to increased federal funding.

BACKGROUND: Swiss-American scientist Willy Burgdorfer is acclaimed for identifying the spirochetal bacteria which causes Lyme disease. Indeed, the pathogen bears his name, Borrelia burgdorferi. Yet, as the author discloses through filmed interviews and archival reviews, there were other aspects to Willy’s research. Employed by the US government and headquartered at Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Burgdorfer was enmeshed in biological warfare projects.  Ms. Newby discusses his work in Switzerland for the American government which led to the identification of a new strain of Rickettsia, a pathogen, if crossed with Borrelia, might well complicate treatment and thus be a candidate for biowarfare.  Interviews by Ms. Newby with American researchers on the topic of the Rickettsia, dubbed “the Swiss agent” by Dr. Burgdorfer, did not shed any light on the mystery pathogen whose existence seems to be buried in the past. Ms. Newby’s discovery of tick drops and the experimental release of ticks document ongoing biowarfare research and questions the consequences if studies go awry. The prevalence of new diseases and the expansion of tick territories are examined in the context of newly revealed government studies. CONGRESSIONAL ACTION TAKEN TO DATE: The Lyme Disease Association has kept Congressman Christopher H. Smith (NJ) apprised of Lyme disease developments over the decades including the release of the book, “Bitten,” and provided him with a pre-released copy along with our grave concerns that the quality of material and level of research merited immediate action. He read the book and took action that included educating as many in Congress as possible, which culminated with the US House of Representatives voting July 11, 2019, to pass Smith’s Amendment #355 to the National Defense Authorizations Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020 (HR 2500), directing the Inspector General of the Department of Defense to “conduct a review of whether the Department of Defense experimented with ticks and other insects regarding use as a biological weapon between the years of 1950 and 1975. HR2500, as amended, passed the House on July 12, 2019. View Amendment #355 View Congressman Smith’s Floor Speech on the Amendment WHO OPPOSES AN INVESTIGATION TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH?: The same entities who claim there is no scientific evidence to support chronic Lyme claim— with little or no evidence— that this is a conspiracy theory perpetuated by advocates and patients. Most of them are the same individuals who have distorted information about the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. They have debunked chronic Lyme disease for decades, despite a vast amount of new research evidence from prestigious institutions on the topic of persistent infection with the Borrelia bacteria after treatment. Like their specious arguments against chronic disease, these critics do not acknowledge nor present any verified opposition to the documents chronicled meticulously by Ms. Newby over five years of visits to the government archives, the Burgdorfer home−including interviews with Dr. Burgdorfer himself, and other places where Dr. Burgdorfer gave some records he did not want the government to have.

HOW CAN YOU HELP? Here’s What To Do & Say: Contact the Senators offices as explained in STEPS listed below *Let them know you want him/her to support the Smith Amendment #355 to the National Defense Authorizations Act (NDAA) which requires the Inspector General of the Department of Defense to investigate a possible US biowarfare program involving ticks and other insects that may have contributed to the spread of tick-borne diseases. *Tell them that the public has a right to know if there was such a bioweapons program and a right to be provided with the details on what, where, and when these weaponized organisms may have been released on an unsuspecting public. *Explain that there may be information which could help in the fight of tick-borne diseases today, when about 427,000 cases of Lyme disease occurred in 2017 in the US according to the CDC, and about 20 tick-borne diseases and conditions are now found in the US. Thank him/her. Please contact [email protected] with any questions. 

  URGENT! ACTIONS FOR YOU TO TAKE NOW: Congress is on recess and many Members are back in their home districts. STEPS: Look at the US Senate Armed Services Committee Table Below

• If there is a Member who is a US Senator from your state, Start with #1.
• If there is NOT a Member from your state, Start with #2.

    MEMBERS of SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE See above TIPS on how to contact your Senator.