VAINCRE LYME, a patient group from France, has joined the coalition opposing the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s proposed new Lyme guidelines.

VAINCRE LYME translates as “Defeat Lyme.” It is the 89th group to join the Ad Hoc Patient and Physician Coalition responding to the newly proposed Lyme guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Twelve nations are represented: The United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Latvia, Poland, Spain, and the Czech Republic.

LymeDisease.org and the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) have spearheaded the effort.

The coalition came together after the IDSA published a draft of its new guidelines in June, inviting public comment.

Comprehensive response

LymeDisease.org’s Lorraine Johnson and Dr. Betty Maloney, of ILADS, prepared a comprehensive response to the guidelines. Soon, other groups publicly endorsed their comments.

In the US, the IDSA’s restrictive Lyme treatment guidelines are often viewed as mandates by physicians, state health officials, medical boards, insurance companies, and the courts.

They have been used to deny treatment, insurance coverage, and the medical licenses of Lyme-treating doctors throughout the country.

Because other countries have also adopted the IDSA’s guidelines, this a worldwide problem for people infected with Lyme disease.

Unfortunately, the IDSA’s newly revised guidelines are in many ways worse than the last ones.

More information:

New IDSA guidelines deny Lyme diagnosis to most of the US

Read our response: Ad Hoc Patient-Physician Coalition Comments Sept 6

See which groups have signed on: 89 groups in 12 countries