The NC Lyme Disease Foundation was founded in 2002 and is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization. Our purpose is to support those suffering from tick-borne diseases like Lyme Disease. Recently, the NCLDF has seen several reports of federal budget cuts to critical research intended to improve the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme Disease, including chronic Lyme Disease. It has been reported by reliable sources, including a local Colorado CBS station and Reuters news that researchers researching Lyme Disease have had their research plans halted or seriously delayed by the current Trump administration local CBS news station in Colorado reported that on February 21, 2025, Joe Cardiello (a Lyme researcher in the CDC office in Colorado) had his job terminated in February 2025. He and his team were working on a groundbreaking new way of using CRISPR technology to detect Lyme disease sooner, early detection being a strong indicator for successful therapy That research is now at least delayed.

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Also, Reuters reported that Brian Stevenson, a Lyme researcher at the University of Kentucky, has had his pending approval for research put on hold by the National Institutes of Health. His research aims to understand better how the Lyme bacterium infects humans, elucidating new and better pathways for Lyme detection and treatment and steering the development of new drugs. These and other Lyme-related research efforts are critical to bettering the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme (especially chronic Lyme).

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Lyme Disease sickens thousands of citizens yearly. Lyme Disease is reported as the most rapidly growing vector-borne disease in the US. Making the issue more urgent is the fact that 10-20 percent of infections become chronic. The number of people each year who develop long-term illness is staggering. “Evidence from 4 National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored retreatment trials, well-conducted patient surveys, and a large medical claims database demonstrates that the physical, social, and economic costs of persistent Lyme disease for individuals can be substantial and are an economic burden for the country as a whole.”

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Locally, the NC Department of Health and Human Resources has determined that Lyme Disease is present statewide with cases from more than one-half of NC Counties, especially in the northwestern mountainous region of the state. The critical issue is that testing and treatment for Lyme (especially long-term, chronic Lyme) desperately need improvement. Indeed, the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, beginning in 2023, finally noted that Lyme infections can have chronic effects. Indeed, during Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s confirmation hearing before the US Senate (specifically in answer to Senator Collins of Maine on Day Two of the Hearing), he gave compelling testimony on the effect of Lyme Disease on himself and his family. “I’ve had Lyme disease,” Kennedy said, adding:  “There’s nobody who will fight harder to find a vaccine or a treatment for Lyme disease than me.”

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Therefore, the NC Lyme Disease Foundation believes that continuing or initiating this federal research is critical to improving the health of our members and urges the Trump Administration to reverse the pauses in this vital research.

To this end, the NCLDF is sending this position paper to NC’s two Senators and the fourteen elected Representatives to urge them to work with the Trump Administration to restart and further this critical research. We also urge our members to contact their US Senators and local representatives to express their concerns.

We thank our Senators and Representatives for your time and efforts to improve our health.

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