Lyme Disease is considered by some to be endemic in Ontario.  You could talk to anyone in Southern Ontario and I am sure they know someone who has had it or has been pre-emptily treated for it.  Unfortunately with the current method of testing endorsed by OHIP, the results can have a 45 – 95% likelyhood of having false negatives.

In my mind this is unacceptable.  Unacceptable because most of my friends and a lot of my family spend a great deal of time out doors.  Unacceptable because, heck most people (non hunters included) enjoy a walk in a local park every now and again.  It is all of these people that are prime candidates for contracting the disease and having a diagnostic tool with such flaws could lead to disastrous results.

A while ago I blogged about the disease and how one of my favourite American hunting personalities, Steve Rinella, contracted it.  Seeing some of the problems and treatments he had to endure really opened my eyes to how devastating it can be.  https://wildsofontario.com/2013/07/19/lyme-disease-awareness/

So with that, I recently tumbled upon a petition in the January issue of the Out of Doors Magazine which calls for OHIP to cover a different more accurate testing methods.  this petition is championed by the Oshawa MPP Jerry Ouellette and hopefully will initiate positive change.  I felt compelled to forward this on to as many people as possible to spread the word about this cause.

I have attached a pic of the petition below.

Anyone who copies, prints and sends it back to Mr. Ouellette will have my gratitude.

Cheers from the Wild

Albert