I'm curious about the Bb origin theories. But I don't understand the assumptions behind them.
Contrary to the Plum Island theory, this one suggests that Bb has been in North America for a LONG time, but only recently has gotten more contact with humans.
According to this line of thinking, what changed?
urbanization? exploding deer populations?
What used to keep Bb in check that is now missing?
Posted by adamm (Member # 11910) on :
Oh, I don't doubt that it's been here for a long time--it's just that that doesn't by any means imply that it wasn't weaponized.
Posted by AmyPW8 (Member # 11504) on :
Bad diets(processed foods) and nutrition! Environmental pollution, too! These are the reasons I have found.
My LLMD says don't eat anything in a box and incorporate as many fresh, organic foods as possible.
You have to admit, there are very few studies on the long term health affects of food preservative, dyes, and pestecides.
Posted by nwisser (Member # 15682) on :
I read that there are records suggesting that at least some native Americans suffered with Lyme. No doubt the sweat lodges helped to keep the bugs at bay. They also used fasting and herbs.
Posted by MariaA (Member # 9128) on :
"they" also heavily modified their surroundings, at least in the Eastern Woodlands. Early Europeans reported that the woodlands looked like parkland because of the widespread practice of burning underbrush, which came to an end with European conquest.
By the end of the 19th century, some Northeastern areas had extremely heavy deforestation, further changing the environment and the species that flourished (mice to deer ratio for instance). After that, deer were much more rare in the Northeast until second-growth reforestation came back to some areas in the last few decades. If I recall right, Pam Weintraub's book says that deer were completely stamped out in parts of NY and CT until they were reintroduced from some of the nearby islands not too long before the first 'known' Lyme cases started appearing.
I'm sure this has something to do with differences in the prevalence of Lyme between the rise of "modern" medicine in the end of the 19th century (and therefore the likelyhood of having historical descriptions of the disease come down to us) and the 1970's when cases started rising in the Northeast.
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
hurricanes
Posted by dmc (Member # 5102) on :
Maria A has the most reasonable "theory". Also most of these lands were farmed.
Ticks don't like open areas. That's why parents and schools are told to move playscapes at least 9 feet from wooded areas.
Posted by nwisser (Member # 15682) on :
Even where they didn't burn underbrush, the trees were so old and the canopy so thick that little more than mosses and lichens could live in the forest. I've been to virgin forest where it's still like that.