Schumer Secures $200,000 for Lyme Disease Research at Fordham University's Laboratory in Westchester

SCHUMER SECURES $200,000 FOR LYME DISEASE RESEARCH AT FORDHAM UNIVERSITY'S LABORATORY IN WESTCHESTER

Funding included in the FY05 Omnibus Appropriations bill

Fordham University would use funds for the Vector Ecology Laboratory at it's Louis Calder Center for Lyme Disease and West Nile Virus research

Earlier this month, Schumer visited Westchester and launched national campaign to increase awareness and unveiled 3-point plan to help crack down on Lyme Disease including federal money for research and prevention

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that Congress will pass the FY2005 Omnibus Appropriations bill which included $200,000 for the Vector Ecology Laboratory at Fordham University's Louis Calder Center for Environmental and Conservation Biology Field Research in Armonk, New York. The lab researches insect-borne diseases including Lyme Disease and West Nile Virus. The funding was included in the Veterans Affairs - Housing and Urban Development (VA-HUD) Appropriations portion of the bill. The bill now heads to the President for his signature.

"The last thing parents should have to worry about when their kids play in the backyard is that they'll contract Lyme Disease from ticks they may not even be able to see on their child's skin," Schumer said. "We need to start funding the research and technology needed to better diagnose Lyme Disease and we need to train residents throughout the region to look for the warning signs of this horrible disease."