The International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) Statement
The members of the International Lyme and
Associated Disease
Society stand in full support of the work of Dr. Joseph
Burrascano.
We recognize Dr. Burrascano as an international leader in the
establishment of guidelines for the treatment of tick-borne
illnesses,
including Lyme disease. Dr. Burrascanos frequently
updated
treatment guidelines have been the backbone of patient management
since their inception and have been found to be effective and
successful in the treatment of patients with these complaints.
As with any emerging disease, the diagnosis, treatment, and
management of Lyme disease is the totality if the physicians
training, skill, and clinical judgement. We formally oppose
the
rigid diagnostic treatment guidelines being currently advocated
to treat the complexity of vector-borne illnesses.
Most importantly,
these guidelines are outdates and contrary to what the current
medical research has shown to be true regarding the chronicity
and persistence of tick-borne illnesses. The thousands of
patients
physically and mentally disabled by these diseases stand
testimony t
o this fact.
We believe that the proceedings against Dr. Burrascano
represent a bias which favors insurance companies and special
interest groups, and are contrary to the basic scientific
principles
of medicine. Unfortunately, the original hypothesis
regarding Lyme
disease as an easily treated disease ha not held true. To
continue to
blindly follow this tenet, ignoring current research, jeapordizes
the
lives of patients with this illness.
In many cases, patients with tick-borne illnesses have been
victimized
not only by the disease, but also by medical politics. The
members
of ILADS believe that the treatment of these illnesses needs to
exist
in a non-threatening atmosphere where doctors can be free to
exchange their ideas and treat patients based on evolving
scientific
evidence. We feel that an impartial investigation into the
adverse
influence and politics which resulted in the OPMC hearing against
Dr. Burrascano is mandatory.
ILADS Page: www.ilads.org