Try This –The Sinister History of Lyme Disease: Lab Leaks, Bioweapons, and Why It Matters

Today’s Insight: A deeper look at the possible lab-leak origins of Lyme disease—and why that could change how we understand, diagnose, and treat it.

What if Lyme disease—something that affects hundreds of thousands of people every year—didn’t come from nature at all?

What if it started as a government experiment?

When I first came across Kris Newby’s book, Bitten, I was floored. I had no idea our government once considered using ticks as bioweapons during the Cold War.

But that’s exactly what happened.

And Newby, a science writer and Lyme survivor, makes a compelling case that Lyme disease—or at least, its sudden rise in the 1970s—might not have been a freak accident of nature, but rather a lab experiment that got out.

Let’s break it down.

A Mysterious Illness and a Chilling Confession

Newby’s journey started with a personal battle. She and her husband were bitten by ticks while on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard. What followed was months of misdiagnoses, over 10 doctors, and tens of thousands of dollars—all before they were finally diagnosed with Lyme disease.

The experience left her shaken…and curious.

That curiosity turned into an obsession after a strange encounter at a party. A former CIA agent casually told her that the oddest thing he’d ever done was drop infected ticks on Cuban sugarcane workers in 1962.

Wait, what?

Soon after, she learned that the scientist who discovered the Lyme bacterium, Dr. Willy Burgdorfer, had also stumbled upon a strange microbe while researching Lyme—a bacterium he’d previously encountered while working with the United States’ bioweapons program.

And that’s when the real digging began.

Plum Island and the Problem with “Franken-Ticks”

Newby uncovered evidence that the US government had been experimenting with ticks as bioweapons during the Cold War. One of the key locations? Plum Island, a research facility just a few miles off the coast of Lyme, Connecticut.

This lab was originally set up to study animal diseases, but multiple sources (including congressional records) confirmed that it also hosted programs to weaponize insects—including ticks.

It’s hard to ignore the coincidence: Lyme disease first emerged in the 1970s just across the water from Plum Island.

Even stranger? Dr. Burgdorfer found a Swiss strain of a rickettsia bacterium (related to Rocky Mountain spotted fever) in local ticks—the same rare pathogen he had worked with in Swiss labs connected to US bioweapons research.

What was a European pathogen doing in New England ticks?

It raised a chilling possibility: were we seeing the aftermath of a lab test gone wrong?

Newly Declassified: The CIA’s Tick Bomb Program

For years, theories about Lyme being linked to US military experiments were dismissed as conspiracies.

But in March 2025, the release of the JFK files changed everything.

The files confirmed a Cold War-era CIA program (Operation Mongoose) that considered using infected ticks as a bioweapon to sabotage crops, spread disease, and cripple the Cuban economy.

So, yes, the US government really did explore using ticks as weapons. And they really did consider engineering them to carry diseases.

If that happened in Cuba, could a similar experiment—or accident—have sparked the outbreak of Lyme here in the US?

We may never get the full truth, but the pieces fit uncomfortably well.

Why This Still Matters Today

If Kris Newby is right, and the rise of Lyme disease was influenced by Cold War experimentation, that’s not just a historical footnote.

It could explain why so many Lyme patients still fall through the cracks.

Lyme is often called the “Great Masquerader” because it mimics other diseases, from chronic fatigue and joint pain to autoimmune issues and even neurological symptoms. Many patients never get a proper diagnosis. Others are told it’s all in their heads.

Newby believes that’s partly because we’ve been treating it like a simple bacterial infection, when it could be a more complex stew of multiple organisms, including pathogens that were never supposed to be in the environment in the first place.

In her words, Lyme may be a “stealth invader,” and our testing and treatment protocols are stuck in the past.

If she’s right, we’re long overdue for a more honest conversation—and a total overhaul of how we think about, test for, and treat Lyme disease.

Try This: Lyme Disease—Prevention & Action

While we wait for the truth to come out about Lyme disease and its origins, which will hopefully provide thousands of families with insights on how to get better care, one of the most powerful things you can do is avoid getting Lyme disease in the first place. A big part of that is being “tick smart” and also taking important measures if you get bitten.

Here’s what you can do to protect yourself and your family, especially if you live in the Northeast or other tick-heavy areas:

1. Avoid high-risk areas when possible. Ticks love grassy, wooded, and brushy areas. Stick to wider trails and avoid brushing up against tall grass or shrubs. Activities like hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking put you at a higher risk for ticks.

2. Wear light-colored, long clothing. It makes it easier to spot ticks. Tuck your pants into your socks for extra protection.

3. Consider safe tick repellents. Look for ingredients like lemon eucalyptus oil, picaridin, IR3535, or nootkatone (derived from grapefruit and cypress trees). Avoid harsh chemical sprays when possible.

4. Use heat. When you return from the outdoors, change your clothes and toss them in the dryer on high heat for 10–15 minutes to kill any ticks.

5. Check for ticks. Inspect your body (and your kids’ and pets’ bodies) thoroughly, especially around the scalp, behind the ears, under the arms, around the waist, in the belly button, and behind the knees.

If you get bitten:

• Use fine-point tweezers to remove the tick carefully—don’t twist or crush it. Get as close to the skin as possible and pull straight out.
  

• Save the tick in a plastic bag for testing. You can send it to labs like TickReport to identify whether it was carrying Lyme or other pathogens.
  

• Track your symptoms. Even if you don’t develop the classic bull’s-eye rash, pay attention to any flu-like symptoms, fatigue, or joint pain in the weeks following the bite.
  

• When in doubt, talk to a Lyme-literate doctor. Early treatment can make a huge difference.
  

For more detailed prevention and treatment tips, check out this Bay Area Lyme Foundation guide.

If nothing else, this story reminds us that sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. And sometimes, it’s been hiding in government archives all along.

Stay curious,

Dhru Purohit