Follow-up to European Parliament resolution on Lyme disease

Question for written answer P-000861/2019 to the Commission Rule 130 Frédérique Ries (ALDE) Subject: Follow-up to European Parliament resolution on Lyme disease On 15 November 2018, MEPs adopted the first resolution on Lyme disease, an underdiagnosed ‘silent epidemic’ spread by ticks, which affects about one million people in Europe. An official report published by the US Department of Health and Human Services in November 2018 recognises the problems associated with serological testing and acknowledges that earlier and more reliable methods of diagnosis are needed. Parliament’s main recommendations include: –Commission-established monitoring programmes and improved cooperation between Member States with a view to standardising diagnostic tests and treatments; –calling on Member States to draft compulsory reports to map the spread of the Borrelia bacterium and to establish individual measures to prevent and control ticks. (1) Are these recommendations being followed up in practice? (2) Can the Commission inform us whether the funds – which amount to about EUR 16 million so far – allocated to Lyme borreliosis research through the ANTIDotE, ID-Lyme and Lymediatex projects are yielding conclusive results and give hope for an improvement in patients’ lives? (3) Does the Commission intend to fund new research protocols on Lyme disease? 1177206. EN PE 635.234