what IF introducing more reptiles to hotbeds of tick based borrelia et al, would lessen the mammal load of Borrelia and therefore lessen the virulence and transmission to humans of Lyme Disease?? there are ecological risks of course, but maybe even temporarily??
or use caged reptiles the way they used to use partridges and pheasants--many folks let them run in infested areas cleaning up the infestation-- the birds were allowed to raom properties and eat the bugs--using reptiles -letting them access in larger open cages and allowing the ticks access to feed upon them instead of the smaller host mammals vector/host--a dead end vector
re North Carolina, US, talking about less human cases:
Megan Davies, a medical epidemiologist at the N.C. Division of Public Health.Part of the reason for lower numbers could be under-reporting and
under-diagnosis, but it's also a result of the ecology, Davies said.
In the South, the nymphal stage of the black-legged tick tends to feed on
reptiles rather than rodents or small mammals.
Reptiles are not good hosts for the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. As a
result, bacteria don't survive as easily and are less likely to infect
humans, Davies said.
"It's a natural phenomenon that seems to be protecting mammals in this
area," she said.
from: http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=323526
Published on Saturday, April 11, 2009
Cure evasive for chronic Lyme disease
By Jennifer Calhoun, Staff writer