THE opening of Ireland’s first dedicated Lyme disease resource centre has been welcomed.
It will be housed at the Mater Hospital/UCD Catherine McCauley Educational and Research Centre in Dublin and the function of the centre will be to advance the understanding of tick-borne infections across Ireland and the European Union as a whole.
The development has been welcomed by Ireland South MEP, Liadh Ní Riada, who expressed concern that the numbers of those affected by Lyme disease is increasing rapidly and there is much that is misunderstood about it, even within the medical community.
“Even the basic classification of the disease is a point of contention, with both the HSE and HSPC classifying it as a skin disease but more recent research describing it as a multi-organ inflammatory disorder or autoimmune disorder,” she said.
“Lyme disease can have a horrendously debilitating effect on people and I have been working with advocacy groups for some time now to raise awareness of the dangers of it and the simple measures both individuals and the government can take to limit its spread,” said the MEP.
Repeated concerns have been expressed about the enormous prevalence of ticks in Killarney National Park with several parents complaining that they have had to remove hundreds of the blood-sucking insects from their children after a day in the park.
A recent TV documentary also highlighted the risk posed by ticks in the grater Killarney area and a number of people in the locality are known to have contracted the debilitating disease.
The new centre will be headed up by Dr Jack Lambert and Ms Ní Riada said she hopes it will be the beginning of the end for Lyme disease in Ireland.
© KillarneyToday.com: Reliable News – Reliable Source.
Advertise with us: Over 300,000 views every month. Over 20,000 followers on Facebook. Call 087-2229761
