A New York congressman has authored legislation to improve Lyme disease research efforts.
Republican Congressman Chris Gibson’s bipartisan legislation requires the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control to audit available research on vector-borne diseases like Lyme disease. The Vector-Borne Disease Research Transparency and Accountability Act of 2014 would form working groups on at least two high-incidence diseases to develop a scientific framework on how to move forward to fill gaps in research and patient care. Gibson says the legislation is designed to give chronic sufferers of tick-borne diseases as well as medical professionals a voice when decisions are made regarding where research dollars are invested.
