Claim: Ticks Weren’t a Problem Until the 1980s... and They Came From Plum Island

Verdict: False and misleading

“We didn't really have a tick problem in this country until the 1980s. [...] As those deer have proliferated and become very common, the ticks have also proliferated.”

WATCH LIVE: RFK Jr. announces new actions on Lyme disease during NH visit RFK Jr., May 29th, 2026

“[Lyme disease is] highly likely to have been a military weapon. We cannot say 100% for sure, but we do know that they were experimenting with ticks there, and the ticks - as you show - are [an] epidemic because of what happened in Plum Island and the other labs.”

Bioweapons and Lyme Disease with Kris Newby (from 8:00)

RFK Jr., January 19th, 2024

RFK Jr. spoke carefully during a recent announcement about new actions to combat Lyme disease, but just two years ago his opinions were far more extreme. But is RFK Jr. right about ticks not being a problem until the 1980s? How do his recent comments connect to his views from just two years ago?

Ticks Were Around Long Before the 1980s, Lyme Just Wasn’t Identified

Whether RFK Jr. was saying that there were very few ticks before the 80s or that the ticks just weren’t a “problem” until then, he is incorrect.

Ticks were first shown to transmit disease in 1893, when scientists showed Texas cattle fever spread through tick bites. Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia were linked to ticks in the early 20th century, and Lyme disease to the blacklegged tick in the 1970s.

However, he is correct to link the rise of tick populations to deer.

Did Ticks (or Lyme) Become a Problem Because of Plum Island?

So why did RFK Jr. suggest that ticks were only a problem from relatively recently? It’s possibly because it fits with a theory he touted on his podcast in 2024, just a year before starting his current role.

The Plum Island Animal Disease Center was at the centre of RFK’s theorizing. It’s proximity to Lyme, Connecticut and the secretive nature of the facility has spurred conspiracy theories. However, what we know about the facility suggests foot and mouth disease and swine fever were the main focuses of research, not Lyme disease.

Most damning of all, a study on the ancient history of Lyme disease traced the bacterial DNA back and suggested the disease is 60,000 years old. So neither Lyme nor tick issues began at Plum Island.