As warm weather returns and tick populations explode across the Northeast, so does curiosity about one of the most misunderstood diseases in America: Lyme disease.
With celebrities like Justin Timberlake revealing recent battles with the illness, the spotlight is once again on its strange origin story—and the conspiracy theories that just won’t die.
The Tiny Island With a Big Reputation for Secrets
Just off the coast of New York, about a mile from the mainland, lies Plum Island—a secluded government research facility that’s long been wrapped in mystery.
Built in 1954 and currently run by the Department of Homeland Security, this lab is officially tasked with studying animal diseases, particularly ones that spread quickly.
The government insists it poses no threat to human health.
But not everyone’s buying it.
From Coastal Lab to Conspiracy Hub
Some skeptics—from podcast hosts to politicians—believe there’s more to Plum Island than the official line.
One persistent theory claims this isolated facility accidentally unleashed Lyme disease onto the public.
That idea first gained traction in the early 2000s thanks to Michael Carroll, author of Lab 257, who spent years digging through dusty archives and interviewing former lab workers.
According to Carroll, the facility once ran a “tick insectary,” where thousands of ticks were bred for disease research.
He claims infected ticks escaped through ventilation holes, hitched rides on migratory birds, and made their way to nearby Old Lyme, Connecticut—the town where Lyme disease was first identified in the 1970s.
Joe Rogan, RFK Jr., and the Ongoing Speculation
The theory got new life when Joe Rogan brought it up on his podcast, speculating about the government experimenting with infected fleas and ticks as biological weapons.
Around the same time, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now part of the Trump administration, echoed similar ideas—though he later walked them back during his Senate confirmation hearings.
Kennedy once suggested that government labs like Plum Island might have infected ticks to test how diseases spread, using birds as unknowing delivery systems.
He even interviewed Kris Newby, who wrote Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons, a book exploring similar claims.
A Lone Voice in Congress Demands Answers
For years, New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith has tried—unsuccessfully—to get the U.S. government to take these claims seriously.
He’s introduced multiple amendments pushing for investigations into whether the military ever tested ticks and insects as weapons between 1950 and 1977.
Each time, his proposals were shut down before becoming law.
Despite this, Smith insists the public deserves to know the truth—whatever it is.
What Science Actually Says About Lyme’s Origins
While conspiracy theories swirl, researchers say they’ve already uncovered Lyme disease’s real backstory.
In fact, the bacteria that causes Lyme—borrelia burgdorferi—was first identified by Swiss scientist Wilhelm Burgdorfer and named after him.
A 2017 study from Yale’s School of Public Health found that the bacteria existed in the northeastern U.S. long before Plum Island was ever built.
By sequencing DNA from 148 samples, including some pulled from preserved animal specimens dating back to the 1800s, researchers concluded the disease has been lurking here for well over a century.
How Lyme Disease Really Affects People
Lyme is most known for its telltale bullseye rash, but symptoms can go far beyond that.
Fever, fatigue, muscle aches, brain fog, facial paralysis, and even life-threatening inflammation of the brain and spinal cord can occur if left untreated.
Thankfully, most people recover completely with a standard course of antibiotics.
Still, a small percentage experience lingering symptoms that take months to resolve.
Experts like Tufts University’s Sam Telford argue that Lyme disease would make a terrible bioweapon.
It’s rarely fatal and takes too long to incubate—far from ideal for warfare.
A Muddled Memory and a Misunderstood Disease
Burgdorfer himself was quoted in Newby’s book suggesting a link between Lyme and biowarfare.
But colleagues from Yale say he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease at the time and caution against taking his statements too seriously.
Durland Fish, who worked at Plum Island and taught epidemiology at Yale, flatly denies any biowarfare connection, insisting there’s no truth to the idea that Lyme disease was manmade.
Native American Lore Adds Historical Weight
Interestingly, the New York State Department of Health points to even older evidence.
Historical accounts suggest that Native Americans in the area once described a condition called “Montauk knee”—an illness with symptoms suspiciously similar to modern Lyme disease.
This implies the disease has been around for hundreds of years.
Why the Questions Still Linger
Despite mounting scientific evidence that Lyme disease has natural origins, Michael Carroll still believes more investigation is warranted.
He’s not claiming Lyme was engineered, but he feels there are enough unanswered questions to merit serious review.
“The facts are too strong to ignore,” he insists. “We need scientists to look at this without bias.
For decades, it feels like the questions have been buried.”
The Bottom Line
Whether it’s a lab accident, a natural outbreak, or just a coincidence of geography, Lyme disease is a growing health concern.
What matters most now is understanding the illness, funding the research, and giving patients the answers—and care—they desperately need.
