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HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Lyme disease is a growing national public health
3crisis; and
4 WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Department of Public
5Health, cases are on the rise in Illinois; and
6 WHEREAS, Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by
7several different strains of bacteria that are carried and
8spread by ticks; and
9 WHEREAS, Those who are bitten by ticks and subsequently
10become infected with Lyme disease suffer from fever, fatigue,
11joint pain, and skin rashes and, in the most severe cases, can
12be afflicted by serious joint and nervous system problems; and
13 WHEREAS, In the United States, 35,000 to 45,000 cases of
14Lyme disease are reported to the Federal Centers for Disease
15Control and Prevention (CDC) each year; the actual number of
16diagnosed cases is closer to 476,000 annually as it is
17estimated that only one out of every ten cases of Lyme disease
18is reported; and
19 WHEREAS, Since the late 20th century, there has been a
20dramatic increase in the Lyme disease infection rate each

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1year; Lyme disease infection rates have doubled since 1991
2from 3.74 cases per 100,000 to 7.95 cases per 100,000; Lyme
3disease is one of the fastest-growing infectious diseases in
4the United States and the western world; and
5 WHEREAS, Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose; diagnostic
6tests analyze blood samples to look for the presence of
7antibodies, an immune response that may not be detectable in
8the blood until many weeks after the initial tick bite and
9infection; and
10 WHEREAS, Up to 60 percent of acute cases of Lyme disease
11are misdiagnosed; and
12 WHEREAS, Those who are diagnosed with the disease early
13and prescribed sufficient quantities of antibiotics may
14recover quickly; and
15 WHEREAS, If the diagnosis is delayed or individuals are
16treated with insufficient antibiotics therapy, many experience
17late-stage symptoms that become chronic; and
18 WHEREAS, A diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease for those who
19are not cured by antibiotics and who continue to suffer the
20apparent effects of the disease is controversial; and

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1 WHEREAS, The newest research seemingly validates the
2diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease and suggests that heretofore
3unknown bacterial persister cells remain dormant in the body,
4evading antibiotics and the immune system, before reinfecting
5the individual after the standard course of antibiotics has
6been taken; and
7 WHEREAS, Those who suffer from chronic Lyme disease
8experience terrible symptoms and often have difficulty finding
9treatment or answers; many are unable to continue working; and
10 WHEREAS, Public funding for Lyme disease research receives
11less than two percent of the funding allocated for researching
12West Nile virus and less than 0.2 percent of the funding that
13HIV/AIDS research receives, despite Lyme disease having annual
14case counts that dwarf those of both diseases; therefore, be
15it
16 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
17HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18we urge the federal government to allocate more funding toward
19finding a cure for the devastating and increasingly prevalent
20public health crisis that is Lyme disease; and be it further
21 RESOLVED, That we encourage the Illinois Department of
22Education to begin health education to prevent tick bites for

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1children who represent the highest risk group for tick-borne
2diseases; and be it further