Controversial Plan to Stop Spread of Lyme Disease
Some of you may remember the fascinating article that appeared in the July/August edition of Yankee Magazine in 2007. If you didn’t catch it, go to this address: http://www.yankeemagazine.com/issues/index.php to order a back issue.
The article was written by Edie Clarke, and it touched on many aspects of our troubles (the infected), the politics, the basics…but what floored me was the study accomplished by Dr. Peter Rand (Maine Medical Center Research Institute) of manipulating the biosphere of an entire island off the coast of Maine called “Monhegan Island”. For thirteen years, Dr. Rand and his team of research associates gathered information which eventually brought them some amazing conclusions.
Initially Monhegan Island was chosen because it could be controlled (except for birds), and the population of deer and people were contained in a convenient location just ten miles away (although the winter trips were certainly inconvenient due to the cold.) Dr. Rand tested all 75 permanent residents on the island and found 13% of the residents tested positive for Lyme. It is safe to say that given the testing inaccuracies it is probable that the percentage of infected residents was much higher, but they all cooperated due to fear that the disease would scare away the tourists.
Over the course of Dr. Rand’s research, and after long heated debate, more than 100 deer were eliminated (which accounted for about 100% of the deer population.)
By the end of the study, every resident tested negative for Lyme, and in 2007 when the article was written Lyme was virtually eliminated from the island creating a feasible plan for Lyme containment everywhere.
At Mumford Cove in Connecticut, a separate attempt to control deer numbers using contraceptives for 3 years failed to prevent a rising deer population.
After further debate it was decided to eliminate as many of the deer as possible. In 2000 the deer numbers were reduced by hunters down to 10.4 deer per sq mile and have been held at that level since then. There are now only 2 to 3 Lyme cases a year in this community compared to 30 new cases a year prior to deer reduction. The deer are now maintained at a steady 10 or so per square mile very easily by two pairs of hunters once a year. There are now virtually no ticks to be found in this community.
However, this hiatus will only last as long as the leaders of the community are vigilant. Deer cover hundreds of miles in their lifetime, and even 2 to 3 cases of Lyme disease per year is a vast improvement, it is unacceptable for those unlucky souls.
Even the most avid deer lover (like myself) would be willing to eliminate deer if I thought it would save our children and grandchildren from this horrible disease. As we’ve heard in the past (and thought ourselves) “Lyme is a disease that doesn’t kill you, but you wish it would.” But of course now we know it DOES kill you, we just don’t know quite yet in how many ways. It is safe to assume that if Lyme infects every organ, that there are many ways Lyme can kill its human host.
The undeniable truth is that now the beautiful outdoors is a dangerous place. Is the survival of deer more important than our own? Please leave your comments on what you think of this radical deer-eradication plan.
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January 22nd, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Hi, Jenna–
I was with you on most of your statements until the last paragraph. It’s completely WRONG to call this a “radical deer-eradication plan.” It’s neither “radical” nor “eradication.”
In Mumford Cove, they did not “eradicate” the deer, but yet they achieved dramatic decreases in Lyme disease. Other than Monhegan Island, I do not know of a single attempt to remove all deer from any location, and I have now researched many dozens of deer management efforts.
Deer management means reducing the density to a level that is good for the forest, is good for reducing Lyme, and reduces the slaughter of deer by cars. It does not mean eliminating the deer.
And if you look around, you will see that there is nothing “radical” about deer management. It is practiced by the Nature Conservancy, the Audubon Society, the National Park Service and the USDA’s Wildlife Service. It is also practiced by hundreds of towns in the eastern and central states.
After careful study of all the alternatives, it is the practice that is seen as the most practical and effective by many experts, and you can see this in the booklet, “Managing Urban Deer in Connecticut,” published by the CT DEP (and also available on the CT Department of Public Health website).
You can find it here:
http://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/urbandeer07.pdf and also here:
http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/wildlife/pdf_files/game/urbandeer07.pdf.
In many areas, the deer population is so out of control that no forest regeneration will take place and the habitat for dozens of native species of flora and fauna has been destroyed. Among foresters and land conservators, there isn’t a lot of “controversy” about this. Good stewardship of the land means preserving the habitat of all the flora and fauna, not just neglecting it and allowing one species to dominate and obliterate the habitat of dozens of endangered species.
Much more info on all facets of deer and tick-borne disease will be available soon at deerfacts.org.
-Dave Shugarts
Member, Newtown Lyme Disease Task Force
Newtown Liaison, Fairfield County Municipal Deer Management Alliance
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Honestly, I don’t think getting rid of the deer population is going to get eliminate Lyme Disease. Lyme ticks are not just on deer, they’re are on raccoons, dogs, cats, mice, rats, birds, any wild animals where Lyme ticks are. What are you going to do, destroy all animals? Many in the Lyme community also suspect that lyme is also spread by fleas, spiders, mosquitoes, sand flies, etc… not just ticks. We can’t treat every animals with Frontline Plus. How about actively searching for a cure to Lyme disease, killing the bacteria and it’s co-infections. How about that? This is an epidemic. Everyone will find that out sooner or later.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:57 am
I completely agree with you, however the results out on Monhegan Island are hard to refute although I wonder what diagnostic tool they used since we know how hard it is to diagnose.
The folks from Mumford Cove are feeling very good about the results of their deer management program, which as an animal lover I would prefer for all kinds of reasons.
I think a vaccine and cure would be the BEST!! Don’t you?
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:16 am
First, it’s unfortunate for the deer, but they would constitute a major problem even if there were no Lyme disease. Deer are so overpopulating the eastern and midwestern states that they are now killing large areas of forests. They harm our lawn shrubs, but I would not complain about that if it were not for them bringing infected ticks to our doorsteps. But they also decimate farm fields and nurseries.
About 1.5 million deer a year are involved in collisions with vehicles and most of them die, but some are injured and live on in crippled condition. This is a tragedy for the deer, but also, about 29,000 of these accidents involve human injuries, and about 200, human fatalities. The deer overpopulation problem won’t get better without deer management.
Second, yes, it’s true that a lot of smaller animals have a role in hosting Lyme bacteria, especially in the first year of the tick life cycle. This is why there is a focus on the white-footed mouse, since it is indeed a reservoir for the bacteria. But the one large mammal that is present in sufficient density during the crucial second year of the tick life cycle, when the adult female deer tick needs a blood meal and some transportation, is the deer.
One deer can transport hundreds of ticks. One female tick can lay 2,000 to 3,000 eggs. It is again unfortunate that the deer have this role.
Again, it is a matter of threshold density, and you can dramatically reduce Lyme disease if you can get the deer population down to about 10 per square mile. This also has a dramatic benefit for allowing the woodlands to regenerate.
Unfortunately, deer have been allowed to overpopulate to really high densities, like 40, 60, 80 per square mile, especially in suburban towns. (There are extremes in certain places that are hard to believe unless you visit them, such as 200 deer per square mile.) When you see this condition, you see nothing on the forest floor but leaf litter, and stream banks that are eroding.
Most foresters and conservationists recognize that they have no choice but to manage the deer. To do otherwise would be to abrogate their responsibilities to all the other forest creatures and the very future of the woodlands that are under their stewardship.
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:44 am
Hi,
I am in Australia. I got Lyme in Melbourne. We certainly don’t have any deer here. I don’t know if I contracted Lyme sexually or got bitten by something. I got sick when I married my ex-husband in 1979. He had a classic bull’s-eye rash and had traveled up the east coast of Australia. (Known tick area.) Lyme bacteria have been found in semen and all body fluids. Many doctors believe it can be sexually transmitted. If so, it would be everywhere, regardless of deer.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Rosemary.
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:48 am
Hi Rosemary -
Thanks for your comment! I know that many of us believe that Lyme is passed sexually, but it is controversial nonetheless. Do you have a Lyme literate doctor availabable to you within driving distance - or anywhere in your country? Or do you have to treat yourself? Have you been sick on and off since ‘79 or extremely ill the whole time? Feel free to peruse the free ebooks on this site and I have four more to add. I love to write but have to work around the Lyme fog. I am actually trying out a protocol that could be a life saver for many…and I promise to keep all my subscribers posted. The protocol takes one month instead of open-ended like all the others (except stem cell therapy) but the cost difference between the 2 is about $50,000 - $70,000 vs. $500 - $1000! And most of us are so financially destroyed by this disease!!
Anyways, thanks again for your comment.
Blessings,
Jenna
April 26th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
Very nice information. Thanks for the time put into the blog you wrote.