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Online course to educate healthcare professionals about Lyme Disease

April 25, 2019

Global Lyme Alliance, the leading nonprofit dedicated to conquering Lyme and other tick-borne diseases through research, education and awareness, has partnered with Delaware's Lyme Disease Education Oversight Board and launched an online Lyme disease course for physicians and other healthcare professionals.

This Continuing Medical Education-certified activity presents and discusses recent advances in the management of Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses. Among the topics covered are the epidemiology of Lyme, diagnostic challenges, common co-infections and routine recommendations for testing and treatment of Lyme disease infections based on current guidelines.

"The incidence of Lyme and tick-borne disease in Delaware and nationwide is alarming and causes so much suffering," said Sara Tyghter, GLA director of education and outreach. "GLA was delighted to work with Delaware's LDEOB to determine the learning objectives for this educational activity and help select its faculty members."

Serving as faculty for the course, A Clinical Guide to Diagnosing and Treating Lyme Disease and Other Tick-Borne Illnesses, are GLA Scientific Advisory Board member Charles Chiu, MD, PhD, associate professor of laboratory medicine and medicine, University of California, San Francisco, and Elena Frid, MD, a board-certified neurologist and clinical neurophysiologist in private practice in New York.

The course was developed after Delaware state lawmakers became aware of the high incidence of Lyme and the suffering it caused constituents. In 2014, lawmakers sponsored Delaware Senate Joint Resolution 10, which was signed into law and established Delaware's Lyme Disease Prevention Task Force. Two years later, Delaware House Bill 291 created the LDEOB and reached out to GLA since it already offered CME-accredited programs. Members worked with GLA and partners to bring the Lyme disease course to fruition.

"We feel that this program is essential to help educate healthcare professionals on the complexity of Lyme disease as a multi-systemic infection that can have the potential for long-term illness if diagnosed late or inadequately treated," said Dr. Krista Griffin, a LDEOB member. "We wanted to impress upon healthcare providers that Lyme disease is a clinical diagnosis; rash presentation or lab testing can confirm a diagnosis but should not be solely relied upon."

Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, said, "Delaware is right in the middle of a hotspot for Lyme disease, which is misunderstood and sometimes misdiagnosed. Continuing medical education classes like this will help physicians identify Lyme early and take action quickly to limit its effects and treat patients quickly."

For information on all its educational programs, go to www.GLA.org.

 

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