In 2022, Virginia Delegate David Reid (District 28), in collaboration with the National Capital Lyme Disease Association (NatCapLyme), passed Virginia House Bill 850 enacted to address tick-borne education in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This law required the commonwealth to develop signage on tick bite prevention, how to identify Lyme disease, and where to seek treatment as well as stipulated that this signage should be placed in each of Virginia’s state and interstate parks. In addition, Virginia’s Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, and the Secretary of Natural Resources were charged with the development of school-age instructional resources and materials to assist school boards and local and regional public libraries in establishing an educational and awareness program to protect children from Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections.
In furtherance of this effort, in 2023 the Virginia legislature passed HB 2008 to establish a working group composed of representatives from the following Virginia departments to address the major aspects of HB 850 passed in 2022:
- Department of Health
- Department of Forestry
- Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
- Department of Education
- Virginia Farm Bureau
- Virginia Veterinary Medical Association
- Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association
- Virginia Cooperative Extension
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
- Department of Wildlife Resources
- Richmond University
- Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners
- Old Dominion University
- Defense Centers for Public Health
- National Capital Lyme Disease Association
The working group was tasked with making recommendations to address:
- Increasing the public awareness of tick-borne diseases and strategies for preventing the transmission of tick-borne diseases.
- Educating health care providers and the public about the importance of and the need for early diagnosis and treatment of tick-borne diseases.
- Improving public health surveillance and data collection related to tick-borne diseases.
- Developing and implementing strategies to reduce the tick populations, to in turn reduce the risk of exposure to and transmission of tick-borne diseases in the Commonwealth.
The working group met throughout the summer of 2023 to achieve consensus on these topics. In November 2023, the working group’s final report and recommendations were presented to Governor Glenn Youngkin, as well as to the Virginia General Assembly.
The National Capital Lyme Disease Association was honored to be a part of this important effort to help make Virginia a safer environment for our citizens, especially our children, in which to live, work and attend school. With the release of the report last week, NatCapLyme would like to share both the summary and the full report to its members.
Please click on the following corresponding links:
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