Lyme in deer and the resulting venison

[sauer]

I posted a ticket/ Lyme awareness video on my socials and I got a query from a customer and it's a good one.. I never considered or thought of

If a deer is riddled with tick or even a couple ... but is incg good nick ly.0h nodes etc all fine

Does Lyme transfer to deer and if so what's the resulting vension status / basically sade to eat ?

Paul.

 

[Buchan]

Safe to eat

Deer do not host the Lyme bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) so there is no risk. Even if there were the bacteria in the meat, Lyme isn't orally transmitted.

 

[weblyish]

Safe to eat

Deer do not host the Lyme bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) so there is no risk. Even if there were the bacteria in the meat, Lyme isn't orally transmitted.

Now i'm imagining the deer with the big bullseye rash right over the heart

 

[VSS]

Now i'm imagining the deer with the big bullseye rash right over the heart

"Bummer of a birthmark".

 

[glasshalffull]

View attachment 413722
"Bummer of a birthmark".

If the characteristic bullseye rash is on you however this is an indicator you've been infected by Lyme bacteria from a resulting tick bite and should visit your GP for tests.

 

[glasshalffull]

This is not what you want to see

 

[weblyish]

I have had the bad luck to see this on one of the young people i was looking after which was informative as I'd not see one before
it was genuinely shocking both how quickly it came up from nowhere (I'd say 4-6 hours from no rash to something around 20cm diameter)
and how perfectly round and bullseye it was
but it was not nearly as shockingly red as in the picture above the person was fairly pale skinned and it was definitely there but not violently red like above

luckily it was centered on the armpit and around their back and was easy to take a look at
I assume the more likely position of in the groin could easily go unnoticed

 

[Heym SR20]

A good article on Lyme Dicease from the US CDC. It doesn’t appear that actually get Lyme. The hosts seem to be mice etc and humans.

Having had Lyme Disease I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Treat your out door gear with Permethrin spray to keep the ticks away.

How Lyme Disease Spreads

<em>Borrelia </em>bacteria are spread to people through the bite of an infected blacklegged tick.

www.cdc.gov

 

[Ratcatcher]

Safe to eat

Deer do not host the Lyme bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) so there is no risk. Even if there were the bacteria in the meat, Lyme isn't orally transmitted.

Isn't that like myxamatosis, horrible to see a rabbit with it, but I was told perfectly safe to eat?

 

[Dave31]

I've just been given a dose of antibiotics for suspected lyme. No testing. I didn't even know I'd been got until a red patch started growing on my calf centred around a bite that I hadn't noticed. Feeling pretty rubbish now.

 

[Buchan]

Isn't that like myxamatosis, horrible to see a rabbit with it, but I was told perfectly safe to eat?

Not quite. Animals have a wide response to different diseases, so horse and humans suffer really badly from tetanus, but dogs don't get it very often. It's mostly to do with immune system differences such as receptors on cell membranes, and these vary between species. If the receptors don't match then no disease. So the poxvirus that causes myxomatosis creates the disease in rabbits - the lumps and pus, but because it doesn't affect us, the meat is safe (if skanky).
If a deer is bitten by a tick carrying Lyme, the bacteria do not replicate in the blood and so the deer do not transmit the disease between ticks. The meat is perfectly safe (and wholesome!)

 

[SCC]

Very informative video on Ticks ....True Facts: Dangerous Little Ticks

 

[Buchan]

Very informative video on Ticks ....True Facts: Dangerous Little Ticks

That is brilliant such good photography

 

[wytonpjs]

Very informative video on Ticks ....True Facts: Dangerous Little Ticks

Cracking video - learnt more in that than I have in getting rid of them for the last 10 years! Thank-you

 

[glasshalffull]

The serological testing for Lyme disease is all done at Porton Down Salisbury and you should insist on getting tested if you know for sure you've had a tick bite from being in an area associated with Lyme's.

 

[jall55]

@AShell

 

[Tazz]

I've just been given a dose of antibiotics for suspected lyme. No testing. I didn't even know I'd been got until a red patch started growing on my calf centred around a bite that I hadn't noticed. Feeling pretty rubbish now.

I hope the recovery all goes well. I have taken 3 ticks off myself in the last week, neck arm and ribs, this time it was the very small black ticks. I use the credit card style remover or the tick removing tweezers then stick Savlon on straight away

 

[Hburns]

Hi all,


I'm currently working on a research project looking at tick distribution and the species they commonly affect, with a focus on public health and wildlife management in the Cumbria region.
As deer stalkers, you’re often the first to notice changes in tick activity and host species, so your insights would be hugely valuable. I’ve put together a short survey (only takes a few minutes), and I’d really appreciate it if you could take part:
Survey on Tick Populations

Feel free to share it with others in the stalking or countryside community—every bit of data helps build a clearer picture.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Dixie Dean]

The serological testing for Lyme disease is all done at Porton Down Salisbury and you should insist on getting tested if you know for sure you've had a tick bite from being in an area associated with Lyme's.

Is there any mapping of areas associated with Lyme's ?

 

[Heym SR20]

In terms of recovery from Lyme Disease and many other long term Neurological disease Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy seems to be working pretty well.

You are put into a chamber that is pressurised to 2 Atmospheres and then breath pure oxygen for about an hour. This fully saturates the blood with oxygen which helps get rid of the disease and promotes healing.

I went through this for treating long COVID, having had Lyme in past. It’s one session a day for 30 days, then two or three times a week, then two or three times a fortnight, then every three weeks and then you don’t need it, or you need re inflating every now and then.

There is a chamber in Edinburgh run by a little charity - MS Compass - but there are others around the country. Originally designed and built to treat those with Multiple Sclerosis back in the late 1980’s. Indeed it was designed by a gentleman who is a deer stalker and member of the rifleclub of which I am a member.

More details Oxygen Therapy | Compass Therapy Centre