Where Lyme Disease Came From and Why It Eludes Treatment
[CanLyme Note: The title is a bit misleading. The bacteria that causes Lyme disease is millions of years old according to research. Why it spread so quickly in the past 60 years is the question, and climate change (warming) only accounts for some of that spread because countries with colder climates than Canada have had Lyme disease occurring for many years.]
May 17th, 2019 by David Swanson
A new book called Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons by Kris Newby adds significantly to our understanding of Lyme disease, while oddly seeming to avoid mention of what we already knew.
Newby claims (in 2019) that if a scientist named Willy Burgdorfer had not made a confession in 2013, the secret that Lyme disease came from a biological weapons program would have died with him. Yet, in 2004 Michael Christopher Carroll published a book called Lab 257: The Disturbing Story of the Government’s Secret Germ Laboratory. He appeared on several television shows to discuss the book, including on NBC’s Today Show, where the book was made a Today Show Book Club selection. Lab 257 hit the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list soon after its publication.
Newby’s book reaches the same conclusion as Carroll’s, namely that the most likely source of diseased ticks is Plum Island.
I tend to avoid conspiracy theories but his one makes some sense. It may explain why the CDC, CIHR, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada tend to look the other way when it comes to actually tackling the problem. Those involved have to keep up their denial or face the consequences. It must be hard work in the face of the overwhelming science on the issue. Once you have told a big enough lie you have to keep telling more.