Advocates for Wisconsin Lyme disease groups canvassed the Wisconsin State Capitol Tuesday and Wednesday to meet with legislators and promote their cause.

Marina Andrews, Michele Feltz, Tory Gensichen and Sara Brenner said they were visiting Assembly and Senate members to inform them of state health statistics and promote a Lyme disease documentary, “Under Our Skin,” which will be showing at Sundance Cinemas Oct. 9 to 15.

“What we are trying to convey today is the seriousness of Lyme disease; what an issue it is in Wisconsin and how many people are suffering,” Andrews said.

According to Andrews, the health care costs associated with Lyme disease are a financial burden for many Wisconsin families, and some residents have to go out of state to receive treatment because there are only two specialists in Wisconsin.

Feltz said Lyme disease has been called the “hidden epidemic” because so many people either have undiagnosed Lyme disease or their case has not been reported to the Centers for Disease Control by a doctor. She said the state has had 2,028 confirmed cases of Lyme disease, but the CDC said the cases are underreported.

“Wisconsin is the seventh-highest state in the country for Lyme disease, and we are the second most concentrated area in the Midwest,” Feltz said.

Feltz also said her daughter was born with Lyme disease because it is hereditary. She added few people are aware it can cause stillbirth and other complications during pregnancy, which makes the need for education that much greater.

Gensichen said treating Lyme disease is a very complex process because the spirochete, the bacteria that causes the illness, is very resilient and can form a cyst to protect itself from antibiotics.

“In a nutshell, Lyme disease treatment is a multidimensional process which involves many types of medications to penetrate the spirochete,” Gensichen said.

Brenner and Gensichen, who live in the Madison area, said they are trying to get a grassroots movement in the area to promote their cause.

Assembly Committee on Fish and Wildlife Chair Ann Hraychuck, D-Balsam Lake, said Lyme disease has been an important issue for her during her tenure in the Legislature because so many people in her district are infected with the disease.

“I have been working with Marina Andrews basically ever since I took office to promote public education of Lyme disease and the importance of prevention,” Hraychuck said.

Hraychuck also said she has spoken to many members of the Assembly Public Health Committee and thinks there will be a public hearing on the matter.

Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, said the four ladies who visited the Capitol Wednesday are performing a useful service by educating people about Lyme disease.

“As member of Committee on Transportation, Tourism, Forestry, and Natural Resources, I deal with outdoors people a lot, and they are in the most danger of getting Lyme disease,” Grothman said

Grothman added education about Lyme disease is important because it is a very preventable disease.