Episode Description

People in my hometown hate deer for all sorts of reasons: they cause car collisions, destroy property owners’ gardens, and wreak havoc on the forest floor. But perhaps the number one reason people want to get rid of deer? Lyme Disease. Deer play a major role in the spread of Lyme Disease and other tick-borne illnesses. If they’re not discovered and treated quickly enough, these diseases can cause serious long-term damage to those who suffer from them. I’ve always known that deer have a part to play in the spread of tick-borne illnesses... but to what extent are they to blame? In this episode, I sit down with several tick-borne illness researchers, who help me better understand how deer fit into the Lyme Disease equation. I also speak with someone whose harrowing experience with Lyme Disease shifted her perspective on racial and gendered biases within the American healthcare system.

Show Notes

Sources referenced in this episode:

CDC: Signs and Symptoms of Untreated Lyme Disease

Wildlife Control Information: Shelter Island and Fire Island 4-Poster Deer and Tick Study

MDPI: Removing the Mask of Average Treatment Effects in Chronic Lyme Disease Research Using Big Data and Subgroup Analysis

Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research: Missed Diagnosis and the Development of Acute and Late Lyme Disease in Dark Skinned Populations of Appalachia

American Journal of Epidemiology: Racial Differences in Reported Lyme Disease Incidence

Organizations to support:

Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Research Center

Tick-Borne Conditions United

LivLyme Foundation

Society for the Analysis of African American Public Health Issues

Further learning:

TickEncounter

LymeDisease.org

Lyme.org

Implicit Bias and Racial Disparities in Health Care

Check out these podcasts:

Native Plants, Healthy Planet

Snake Talk

Strange By Nature

Our Hen House

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