Fables are harmful
The recent letter to the editor from Kathleen Smith of Canonsburg provided me a tipping point of frustration with the pervasive ignorance and misinformation about Lyme disease. Please stop perpetuating the fable about the abundance of deer in Mt. Lebanon with increased risk of Lyme disease. The PA Game Commission website (www.pgc.state.pa.us) is chock full of nifty information beginning with the fact that “Lyme disease is correlated with the abundance of acorns, mice and chipmunks,” not deer. Furthermore, deer do not infect ticks with the bacteria that cause Lyme disease nor do deer contract the disease when an infected tick feeds on them. The Game Commission’s website states that “There is no clear relationship between deer density, tick abundance and Lyme disease.” I, too, had an uncle who suffered terribly for many years from this disease, which can take a long time to properly diagnose. My heart goes out to your friend who has also been afflicted. However, the Mt. Lebanon deer issue does not benefit from false information and innuendos perpetuated by the ill-informed.
Linda Csont
Mt. Lebanon