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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Lyme disease, the most frequently diagnosed |
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insect-borne disease in the country, was first confirmed in Texas |
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in 1984; since then, countless state residents have suffered the |
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effects of this painful disease, yet their efforts to seek |
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appropriate medical care are often stymied; and |
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WHEREAS, Transmitted by the bite of an infected tick or flea, |
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Lyme disease is caused by a specialized type of bacteria called a |
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spirochete; people of all ages are susceptible to the disease, |
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which can cause skin, joint, heart, and nervous system problems and |
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which, if not adequately treated, can continue for months or years; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Most easily and effectively treated during its early |
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stage, the disease is commonly overlooked because many people do |
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not realize that they have been bitten; a bull's-eye rash is the |
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only certain sign of Lyme disease, but not everyone who has been |
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infected develops a rash, and other symptoms may not occur until as |
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many as eight weeks after a bite; diagnosis is further complicated |
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by the fact that the biological markers of the disease are not |
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necessarily reliable and do not always appear in laboratory tests; |
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the longer a person has the disease, the harder it is to eradicate; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Although some studies have shown that most patients |
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can be cured of Lyme disease with a few weeks of oral antibiotics, |
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many patients continue to report symptoms long after an initial |
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round of treatment; in those cases, the International Lyme and |
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Associated Diseases Society recommends continuing antibiotic |
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treatment "for several months after clinical and laboratory |
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abnormalities have begun to resolve and symptoms have disappeared"; |
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however, because this method differs from the one promoted by the |
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Infectious Disease Society of America and other organizations, |
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health care professionals often face the loss of their medical |
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licenses for pursuing it; and |
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WHEREAS, The number of Texas physicians who attempt to treat |
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chronic Lyme disease patients has shrunk, and |
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patients--debilitated by such symptoms as fatigue, muscle and joint |
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pain, headaches, nausea, anxiety, depression, and Bell's |
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palsy--are forced to either travel out of state to gain access to |
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care or forgo treatment altogether; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby request the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house |
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of representatives to provide for a joint interim legislative study |
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on the availability of medical treatment for patients with Lyme |
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disease in Texas. |