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Lyme disease is huge in New England. A friend of mine who practices family medicine in Maine says most of his work these days is dealing with Lyme.
The tick population has grown hugely, for various reasons. The deer population has exploded, and the complex eco-system that kept the ticks in check has broken down. Deer ticks begin life as tiny poppy seed sized nymphs and they live on small rodents. The major vector is white-footed mice.
At one time, the mice were predated by snakes, foxes, and birds. However, as the suburbs have expanded, the habitat for these predators has disappeared, broken up into subdivisions with no continuity. The mice are still there, but nothing to kill them.
Foxes, hawks, and other predators of mice are making a comeback in some areas, however. Indigenous snakes such as the northeast timber rattler are gone from the area, and in my opinion it would be a good idea to reintroduce them, because each snake can rid the area of thousands of ticks.
The deer population is too high, as every motorist knows. If you drive around Acton or other suburban towns, you are very likely to see (and possibly hit) a deer on the local roads. Gardeners whose land abuts conservation forest are well aware of deer, who will come in and eat basically everything down to the ground. "Rats with antlers", they've been called. There are an estimated 32 million deer in the U.S., up from about 30,000 during the 1940s after decades of restricted hunting.
Deer are beautiful creatures, but they are the major carrier of mature ticks, and they have spread Lyme disease far and wide. Deer were introduced to Monhegan Island in Maine in the 1950s as a quaint tourist attraction, and Lyme became epidemic there with 10-12% prevalence among the population. Finally in the mid 1990s, they got rid of the deer with a special one-time hunt, and five years later new cases of Lyme disease had subsided to almost zero. Similar experiments were tried in at least one county in Connecticut, with good results.
There are an estimated 300,000 new cases of Lyme every year in New England, and some epidemiologists say the real number is much higher. Some MS patients are now suspected of having undiagnosed Lyme rather than true MS. Many people suffering chronic pain such as arthritis symptoms may actually have Lyme, though once the bacteria has settled into your neural tissue, it's extremely hard to get rid of even with massive infusions of antibiotics.
There was a vaccine developed in the 1990s with 80% effectiveness, but anti-vaccine activists sued the company, claiming the vaccine caused Lyme symptoms, a claim later proved false by the CDC. But the company withdrew the drug from the market anyway and now it's available only for animals. If you catch Lyme, you can thank those activists and their lawyers. There are some new vaccines being tested, but nothing is on the market yet.
If you're concerned about Lyme, as well you should be, don't move to a suburban area of Massachusetts. At this time, suburbanites are more hostile to deer hunting than they are to Lyme. There are bumper stickers all over the area saying things like "No bow hunting in Weston". Last week the Blue Hill Reservation held a deer hunt to reduce the population, and the usual protesters turned out in force.
When the suburbanites finally recognize Lyme for the terrible epidemic it has become, or get it themselves, perhaps finally they will agree to reduce the numbers of deer as well as rodents by any means possible.
Deer are beautifulIf you're concerned about Lyme, as well you should be, don't move to a suburban area of Massachusetts. At this time, suburbanites are more hostile to deer hunting than they are to Lyme. There are bumper stickers all over the area saying things like "No bow hunting in Weston". Last week the Blue Hill Reservation held a deer hunt to reduce the population, and the usual protesters turned out in force.
When the suburbanites finally recognize Lyme for the terrible epidemic it has become, or get it themselves, perhaps finally they will agree to reduce the numbers of deer as well as rodents by any means possible.
With the exception of college, I've lived in MA my whole life, mostly in coastal MA. I've never had Lyme. No one in my family growing up ever had Lyme. My kids have never had Lyme. I don't think the level of fear mongering presented here is all that helpful (or accurate).
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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Originally Posted by traffic_lover
You're putting words in my mouth.
No, there certainly is not scientific evidence nor did I claim as much.
Abductive reasoning, laddie.
No, it isn't. Because abductive reasoning goes to the simplest and most likely explanation. This theory is neither simple nor likely. Quite the opposite. It's tinfoil hat territory.
I'm concerned if you have anxiety and worry over something like ticks that just a move would make you panic and you would worry about other things as well.
With the exception of college, I've lived in MA my whole life, mostly in coastal MA. I've never had Lyme. No one in my family growing up ever had Lyme. My kids have never had Lyme. I don't think the level of fear mongering presented here is all that helpful (or accurate).
How was my comment "fear mongering" or inaccurate? Everything I stated is factual information from authoritative sources. I've done a lot of research into Lyme disease because I live in New England, and I'm interested in the topic.
You have presented no facts other than the claim (that no one can validate) that you and yours have never gotten the disease. Shooting down someone else's comment as "fear mongering" without the slightest evidence to back it up is merely trolling.
Here's some reading, for those who are interested:
How was my comment "fear mongering" or inaccurate? Everything I stated is factual information from authoritative sources. I've done a lot of research into Lyme disease because I live in New England, and I'm interested in the topic.
Sorry but you are fear mongering. Ridiculous to tell someone not to move to suburban areas.
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