Lyddy, McKinney Show Bipartisan Support For Lyme Antibiotics Measure

HARTFORD — State Representative Christopher Lyddy (D-Newtown) joined with a bipartisan coalition of legislators, including Republican Minority Leader Senator John McKinney (R-Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, and Weston) to allow physicians to dispense long-term antibiotic treatments for Lyme disease sufferers.

“Lyme disease affects far too many people, including many residents of Newtown,” said Rep Lyddy. “This bill changes public health policy by ensuring that doctors are free to make decisions that are in the best interest of their patients.”

House Bill 5625, An Act Concerning the Use of Long-Term Antibiotics for the Treatment of Lyme Disease, will extend protections to doctors allowing them to freely diagnose and treat patients with Lyme disease. The bill will allow physicians treating Lyme disease patients to diagnose the disease clinically and consider all treatment options, including long-term antibiotic therapy.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2007 more than 3,000 people were infected with Lyme disease in Connecticut, 36 of those cases were in Newtown alone. The CDC estimates that only ten percent of cases are reported each year, so the number of infected people is actually much higher.

“At a time when the legislature faces tough financial deficits and cuts in spending statewide, legislators can still support legislation that does not cost the state tax payers but does make a significant impact in treating disease. The Lyme bill will do just that,” Rep Lyddy said.

“This bill will protect physicians who help and treat patients with chronic Lyme disease. Members of the Newtown Lyme Disease Task Force appreciate Rep Lyddy’s advocacy, concern, and the time he has taken to understand the complexity of the situation,” said Maggie Shaw, a registered nurse and chair of the Newtown Lyme Disease Task Force for the last ten years.

A public hearing before the Public Health Committee was held last Friday. More than 100 people submitted written testimony in support of the bill, sharing their personal stories and struggles in fighting the disease. 

The State Medical Society and the Lyme Disease Association of America also sent representatives to testify on behalf of the bill.

Newtown Health District Director Donna Culbert, who has been a strong advocate against Lyme proliferation locally, said the decision to dispense long-term antibiotics should lie within patient’s individual physician’s recommendations.

“I have not read the specific proposal, but I respect a physician’s capacity to make these kind of decisions. If this legislation helps them to best treat individual patients diagnosed with Lyme disease, I’m all for it,” Ms Culbert said.