The TICK Act stands for “Tick: Identify, Control, and Knock out Act.” It addresses the growing spread of Lyme disease and its myriad co-infections. Last year, there were an estimated 400,000 new cases of Lyme, a 1400 percent increase from 2003, twice as many as breast cancer cases and 8 times as many as HIV. Yet, in 2018, the National Institute of Health (NIH) awarded $30 million to Lyme research, while awarding $721 million to breast cancer research and $3 billion to HIV research. The disparity in funding is striking. And may explain insufficient research and no cure for Lyme yet.

This bipartisan legislation finally allocates resources for prevention, early detection, and treatment of Lyme, and other tick borne diseases. In the Senate, the Act passed the H.E.L.P. committee unanimously—ready to head to the floor for a vote, and has 23 co-sponsors. It is named after former Senator Kay Hagan, who recently died from complications from a tick-borne illness. The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in June 2019 and has 51 co-sponsors but awaits passage in the Energy and Commerce Committee.

The growing threat of Lyme disease needs to be addressed urgently with immediate swift action. A recent National Institute of Health (NIH) press release (October 10, 2019) reminds us “incidence of reported cases [are] expected to continue to grow as tick species expand their geographical reach and new tick-transmitted pathogens emerge, raising the potential for serious human illness and death.”

We urge our Senators and Representatives to co-sponsor the respective bills and make the passage of these bills their highest priority. We must ensure that this emerging epidemic is eradicated, and those currently suffering are cured of this insidious, devastating illness that has destroyed the lives of so many Americans for far too long.

Thank you for signing this petition. Please also call/email/write to ask your individual Senators and Representatives to co-sponsor these important Bills.