Lyme Disease Treatment: RFK Jr.'s Plans Draw Scrutiny

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s plans to address Lyme disease are under scrutiny, with public health officials expressing concern that his past promotion of conspiracy theories could undermine public awareness campaigns about the disease and the ticks that transmit it.

Kennedy's plan, dubbed "Make America Healthy Again," includes a relaunch of testing and treatment efforts by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). According to Kennedy, this initiative will be "grounded in the real-world experiences of patients."

HHS has announced the renewal of the LymeX Innovation Accelerator, a public-private partnership with the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation. This $10 million initiative, which began during the Trump administration, aims to advance artificial intelligence tools for earlier and more accurate detection of Lyme disease across all stages of infection, according to HHS officials.

Kennedy stated that for decades, Americans with Lyme disease have been denied accurate diagnoses and effective care.

Thomas Mather, a leading tick expert and professor of public health entomology at the University of Rhode Island (nicknamed "The Tick Guy"), agrees that more awareness about Lyme disease and the blacklegged (deer) tick, which carries the bacteria, is needed. He acknowledges the need for increased effort to understand the complexities of the disease.

Mather points out that while deer ticks transmit Lyme disease, other tick species can cause different health problems, such as Alpha-gal syndrome and Powassan virus.

Kennedy has shared his personal experience with Lyme disease, stating that one of his sons suffered facial paralysis for nearly a year after contracting the illness.

That said, the reality is a bit more complicated. Kennedy's views on the origins of Lyme disease have drawn criticism. In January 2024, he suggested on his podcast that it was "highly likely" that Lyme disease was developed in a military lab on Long Island, New York.

Mather refutes this claim, calling it a conspiracy theory. He explains that scientist Willy Burgdorfer discovered the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease in ticks on Long Island in 1981. This discovery led to the identification of the same bacteria in mice dating back to the 1800s, predating Kennedy's claim of a military bioweapon release. Mather emphasizes that research indicates Lyme disease existed in ticks long before its cause in humans was known.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirms that Lyme disease is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected deer ticks. Approximately half a million people in the US are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year, according to the CDC.

Common symptoms of Lyme disease include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. Untreated infections can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system, according to the CDC.

Recent data from CDControl indicates that emergency room visits for tick bites in New England and nearby states reached a five-year high in June. In that month, 233 out of every 100,000 ER visits in the Northeast were attributed to tick bites, nearly double the national average of 118, according to reports.

Efforts to control tick populations are underway in some areas. On Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, spiked deer populations (which carry ticks) have prompted officials to extend hunting season to reduce the risk of human infection.