Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of Lyme disease and to highlight an example of where we have really failed in Ireland - the case of Anthony Morris in County Kerry. The Rural Independent Group met Mr. Morris last week, as well as Dr. Joseph G. Jemsek, who is an infectious disease specialist in America and who has worked with Mr. Morris in trying to create awareness around this issue.

As the Taoiseach knows, Lyme disease is spread through the bite of a black-legged tick which is infected with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. It is a horrible, debilitating disease which, if left undiagnosed and untreated, can snowball out of control. We are very much lacking in six specific areas in Ireland. The first is a lack of proper recognition. The second is a belief that people cannot get Lyme disease here. The third is the Irish blood test. The blood test available here is called the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, ELISA. It tests the blood for antibodies created by the immune system to fight the bacteria which causes Lyme disease. The problem is that, in many cases, the disease affects the immune system in a way which does not cause antibodies to be made. If a person reacts negatively to the ELISA test it does not mean that he or she does not have Lyme disease. It means he or she has no antibodies to fight it. There are varying percentages of accuracy with the ELISA test, all of which are low. Ironically, those worst affected by Lyme disease will most likely have no antibodies to fight it, hence they become so unwell. These people will test negatively on the ELISA test.

The fourth area in which we are lacking is that the number of reported cases per year is vastly lower than the reality. This is because the person must first test positive on the ELISA test and then his or her doctor must report it. Therefore there is a huge gap between reported cases and the actual number. The fifth area in which we are lacking is that those with Lyme disease fall through the cracks. Many are not well enough to be students or to continue working. Lyme disease is not properly recognised, therefore they are not entitled to any help from the State or even a medical card. They fall through the cracks.

The sixth and final area is the most important. There is a lack of training and knowledge among medical professionals. I will give the Taoiseach some examples of this which relate to the case of Anthony Morris from Kerry. He has had chronic Lyme disease for the last ten years. He has been a shadow of his former self. He was once a very active man and a tough former Kerry football captain. He is now weak, in constant pain and has neurological symptoms. For the last ten years, his partner has been pulling him out of bed and helping him to walk. He is in constant pain and bone-tired with fatigue. Mr. Morris has not had a proper night's sleep in ten years. Being sick for so long is tough but what compounds the misery is years of mixed diagnoses, going from doctor to doctor and specialist to specialist, having test after test, being told he has ME, or that it is psychological or that he is perhaps depressed and that it is all in his head. He has been told to get more air, to get more exercise and to take antidepressants and has been told that will sort him out. One infectious disease specialist said that he could not be that sick and that he should shake himself off and get back to work.

For years Mr. Morris tried to convince the UK and Irish medical professions that he needed to be tested for Lyme disease and that the UK and Irish tests might not give accurate results. Mr. Morris paid to have his blood tested privately by a specialist laboratory in Germany. Guess what? That German laboratory proved that he had chronic Lyme disease.

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