Re: Picket Line

**l*@juno.com**

That is not correct. Any infected tick, infected by any mammal, can pass
it along. For those interested, see
http://www.aldf.com/deerTickEcology.shtml Also it is Lyme, not Lymne
Disease. 

For those who are not familiar, not everyone presents with the same
symptoms. My husband had his first bout last December, just in time to
ruin the holidays. He had no rash (I always get a rash), no flu-like
symptoms (I always get them), and headaches so severe that the ER doctors
thought he had meningitis. He was hospitalized for five days, during
which the doctors could make no diagnosis. His white blood and platelet
counts dropped to such dangerously low levels that they then suspected
leukemia. 

First, they put him in isolation so that he wouldn't infect anybody else;
then decided he needed to stay isolated so he wouldn't get infected BY
anyone else. He was pumped up with a rotating regimen of every sort of
anti-infective imaginable, until his blood count started to rise again.
With no diagnosis, they sent him home. A week later, our family physician
said "OMG you have Lyme Disease", gave him doxycycline and he recovered
immediately.

By contrast, my ER physician had had experience with Lyme and diagnosed
me immediately (the rash helped). There are many doctors out there who
just don't know. Deer ticks carry other bacteria that cause severe
infections, including encephalitis. The ONLY antibiotic that kills all of
these bacteria is doxycyline, so if you suspect you've been bitten,
insist on it (my veterinarian's advice).

We are not moving anywhere to avoid ticks. We take precautions and have
learned to go to our family physician immediately, when we suspect a tick
bite.

Jeff, I was splitting symantic hairs; your original message said that the
deer/racoons CAUSED the diseases.

Regards,
Lois

On Tue, 4 Dec 2007 16:47:08 -0500 Jeff Ball <jeffball@usol.com> writes:
> My understanding is the the tick cannot acquire the Lymne disease  
> without a visit to both a mouse and a deer.  I also thought that no  
> 
> tick could transfer Lymne disease if it was not on a deer first.  I  
> 
> may be wrong.
> I only know that in the Washington DC area in 1981, 1987 and again 
> in  
> 1991, the raccoon population in the area, which is some cases 
> reached  
> a density of 300 animals per square kilometer, had a major rabies  
> outbreak.  The literature at the time blamed the overpopulation of  
> 
> raccoons on the outbreak of the disease.
> 
> Jeff Ball
> jeffball@usol.com
> 810-724-8581
> Check out my daily blog at www.gardeneryardener.blogspot.com
> Check out my extensive web site at www.yardener.com
> 
> 
> 
> On Dec 4, 2007, at 2:46 PM, loisdan@juno.com wrote:
> 
> Hi Jeff,
> 
> My oh my, where shall I start! Lyme's disease and Rabies are not 
> caused
> by deer and racoon. Lyme's is caused by a bacteria and Rabies by a  
> 
> virus.
> Using your logic Jeff, killing human pests, who have no predators, 
> would
> be a good way to eliminate HIV-Aids, or possibly the common cold. 
> And
> since there is no way to tell by sight which humans have these 
> diseases
> and which don't, why not just thin out their population and hope for 
> the
> best?
> 
> Having had Lyme's disease twice, I can testify that it is terribly
> debilitating, but it is carried by the deer TICK, which is also 
> harbored
> by mice and other small mammals. Here in the country, we have 
> racoons  
> and
> occasional outbreaks of rabies. But wait, foxes can also become  
> rabid, so
> they must be a pest, too. What about bats? There's an Indiana Bat
> hibernaculum about a mile from my house. Maybe they should all be
> eradicated? NO,WAIT, that's a federally endangered species!
> 
> "Pests," like most things, are in the eye of the beholder. And  
> simplistic
> solutions usually don't solve complex problems.
> Let Jeff's experience be a lesson to us all. Doing adequate 
> research,
> writing about what we know, and checking our facts are just as 
> important
> today, as ever.
> 
> Until humans begin to understand that the deer, bear, racoon etc.,
> "problems" are caused by PEOPLE, we will remain unable to solve 
> them.
> 
> Why not try sustainable development? It can't be any worse than 
> what
> we've already created.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Lois J. de Vries
> Visit http://loisdevries.blogspot.com
> 
> On Tue, 4 Dec 2007 12:02:04 -0500 Jeff Ball <jeffball@usol.com> 
> writes:
> > I'm now among the few garden writers in this country who has had 
> a
> > picket line thrown up against them.   It was my own fault, but it
> > does represent a challenge to any columnist.  I happen to believe
> > that the explosion of the raccoon population in the city, 
> suburbs,
> >
> > and exurbs is a serious problem. So I did a column on the topic.
> > Bad
> > mistake.  At least my wording was very unfortunate because it 
> raised
> >
> > the wrath of PETA the Animal Rights folks.  I got about forty
> > e-mails
> > 35 to 5 against.  The newspaper got as many or more angry phone
> > calls
> > and yesterday PETA set up a picket line in front of the newspaper
> > which caused the editor to go beserk.  I was not in danger of 
> losing
> >
> > my job, but my newspaper was not happy with me, that's for sure.
> > Today, they (Detroit News) published three negative letters and 
> then
> >
> > some quotes from a representative of the state Department of 
> Natural
> >
> > Resources who quietly confirmed I had my facts correct.  My
> > political
> > sensitivity was what was lacking.
> >
> > Killing any pest animal no matter the circumstances is not
> > acceptable
> > to the members of PETA.  I knew that, but it didn't occur to me 
> that
> >
> > my little yardening column would even get their attention.  Nancy 
> is
> >
> > taking high road of course.  She told me it was a bad idea to 
> write
> >
> > about the subject in the first place.  I now owe her a fancy 
> dinner
> >
> > out because yesterday I was at the hospital all day getting 
> routine
> >
> > tests so she had to handle the maelstrom over the phone with the
> > editor.
> >
> > The whole incident is troubling.  PETA wants nothing to be done
> > about
> > the over population of deer and raccoons, ignoring the public 
> health
> >
> > problems those two groups pose.  The legislature won't touch the
> > problem because they fear the response of PETA.  The DNR won't
> > address the issue because they fear PETA and the deer hunters.  
> My
> > newspaper is surely not going to let me or anybody else address 
> the
> >
> > problem at least in the next year or two.  So the population of 
> deer
> >
> > and raccoons continues to grow in areas where they have no 
> predators
> >
> > and are protected from hunters.  Lymne disease and rabies are two
> > very serious public health problems directly caused by deer and
> > raccoons.  I certainly have no desire to raise another ruckus, so 
> I
> >
> > guess I just sit back and watch - very frustrating.
> >
> > Jeff Ball
> > jeffball@usol.com
> > 810-724-8581
> > Check out my daily blog at www.gardeneryardener.blogspot.com
> > Check out my extensive web site at www.yardener.com
> >
> >
> >
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