LDA Presents Lyme & TBDs to EPA

On September 18, 2014, Lyme Disease Association President Pat Smith presented a 1.5 hour PowerPoint presentation entitled Lyme & Other Tick-Borne Diseases: A National Overview & The Role of LDA to the Environmental Protection Agency Biopesticides & Pollution Prevention Division in Arlington, VA. The presentation was done in person, and through a webinar and call in. Question and answer followed, and education materials were distributed by LDA Board member Richard Smith. 

Ms. Smith discussed her organization’s role in Lyme disease prevention and provided an overview of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases with an emphasis on research and prevention. The LDA has been a long time partner in the EPA’s Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP)─ a program designed to reduce risks from pests, in particular, ticks, thereby reducing risks of tick-borne diseases with minimal use of pesticides. This goal is to be achieved by developing tools to be used in schools and for people who have access to public lands for outdoor uses.

LDA helped in the PESP to form the Network to Reduce LD in Children & High Risk Groups. LDA also helped to plan and organize the EPA Conference in 2011 in Virginia, Promoting Community Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to Prevent Tick-Borne Diseases. Pat also co-chaired with CDC, a conference session: Public Outreach Strategies to Reach Targeted Populations. Ms. Smith also co-authored the article from the Network which appeared in the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) March 2010 Journal, You Can Make a Difference to a Child by Reducing Risk of Lyme Disease.

Pictured L to R: Raderrio Wilkins, Agriculture IPM and Biopesticides Demonstration Grants Lead, Environmental Stewardship Branch, US EPA Office of Pesticide Programs; Richard Smith, LDA Board Member; Pat Smith, LDA President; Frank Ellis, Chief, Environmental Stewardship Branch, Office of Pesticide Programs  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC