List of recommendations

Recommendation 1

5.9The committee recommends that the Department of Health and Aged Care work with state and territory governments to develop public education and awareness campaigns to prevent tick-bites, provide information on the treatment of tick-bites, and the symptoms of tick-borneillnesses.

Recommendation 2

5.10The committee recommends that the Department of Health and Aged Care fund research to collect data on the prevalence, frequency and geographical distribution of tick bites inAustralia.

Recommendation 3

5.19The committee recommends that the Department of Health and Aged Care consult medical practitioners and patient stakeholder groups to develop a term to replace Debilitating Symptom Complexes Attributed to Ticks (DSCATT) that removes the stigma that is felt by patients, and provides clarity for medical practitioners.

Recommendation 4

5.20The committee recommends that the Department of Health and Aged Care replace the DSCATT Clinical Pathway with Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) guidelines and patientinformation.

Recommendation 5

5.21The committee recommends that the Department of Health and Aged Care review its suite of fact sheets for the public, and guidance notes for practitioners, to ensure that they are fit forpurpose.

Recommendation 6

5.26The committee recommends that the Australian Government provide funding for urgent research to identify and treat tick-borne diseases, includingthrough:

the identification of tick-borne pathogens in Australia;

determining whether these pathogens are transmissible to humans;and

evaluating the efficacy of treatment protocols accessed by patients both domestically and internationally.

Recommendation 7

5.27The committee recommends that the Australian Government urgently review diagnostic testing available internationally to determine the efficacy and suitability for use inAustralia.