LDA NEWS & UPDATES 
October 2019
Rep. Chris Smith; LDA President, Pat Smith; Wall Deputy Mayor, George K. Newberry; Brian Dashore and Dr. Jodie A. Dashore

A press conference was held at the Wall Township Municipal Complex hosted by Congressman Christopher Smith (R-NJ). The Congressman highlighted information on the “NIH Strategic Plan for Tick-Borne Disease Research,” as well as “The Tick Act,” a bipartisan effort to improve research, prevention, diagnostics, and treatment for tick-borne diseases.

Priorities in the NIH multipart plan include the five pillars of  expanding knowledge of tickborne diseases, developing rapid
LDA President Pat Smith Speaks at Congressional Press Conference

diagnostic testing, identifying treatment success and human biomarkers of persistent symptoms, developing new treatments, and evaluating prevention approaches such as vaccines.

“Everything that was embedded in our first bill in 1998—and every bill thereafter—is captured in the five pillars in the NIH plan,” Smith told reporters and a group of Lyme patients and their families.




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LDA #GivingTuesday, December 3, 2019

Our Campaign starts Oct 31 and runs through Dec 31, 2019. The mission of LDA, a national non-profit, is to raise funds and awareness for Lyme & TBDs. LDA is asking #GivingTuesday donors to support LDA's LymeAid 4 Kids (LA4K) fund. Children, ages 0-19 are 29% of Lyme disease cases. Your help is greatly appreciated!

You may donate directly through our LDA #GivingTuesday webpage or through our Facebook page .
Former Senator Kay Hagan Succumbs to Powassan Battle
Spreading Virus With No Treatment Claims Another Life
We are saddened to hear about the loss of former U.S. Senator, Kay Hagan, to Powassan virus. Hagan fought a tenacious three-year battle with the disease from which one in ten who are diagnosed will die and half of those who survive will face life-long health issues. 

Examining other tick-borne diseases, including Powassan virus, is part of the 2019 HHS Tick-Borne Disease Working Group (TBDWG) subcommittee charge.
Kay Hagan
Good News for Lyme Community!
The just published NIH Strategic Plan for Tickborne Disease Research builds on activities of the HHS Tick-Borne Disease Working Group, which issued a 2018 report to Congress requesting NIH develop such a research strategy.


Back row L to R: Marty Theys, John Celmer, Doreen Edwards, all from The Tick Squad. Front row: Dr. Dina Conde, Dean of Liberal Arts & Sciences; Pat Smith, LDA President; Richard Smith, Vice President, LDA at the NWNJ Lyme & Tick-Borne Diseases Conference at Sussex County Community C ollege
On October 5, LDA President, Pat Smith, headed to Sussex County NJ, as the Keynote Speaker at the Sussex County Community College and The Tick Squad's first Lyme & Tick-Borne Diseases Conference. She discussed the state of tick-borne diseases 44 years into the Lyme epidemic, including the 20 TBDs that currently exist in the US. Pat then traveled to the Pennsylvania Doctor's Alliance where she spoke to their medical conference on the state of tick-borne diseases in the US. 

Researchers, including Robert Bransfield, MD, LDA Professional & Medical Advisory Board Member, recently reviewed in  Healthcare Scientific Journal   the proposed new Lyme Disease Guidelines, a  100 page document  on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Lyme disease drafted by the Infectious Disease Society of America.  The review  scrutinizes specific sections of the guidelines that are most relevant to psychiatry.
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CFC 2017 Approves LDA as National Charity
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