The fall tick season in Maine is ramping up as adult deer ticks come out to feed. So far in 2025, case numbers of some human tickborne illnesses have surpassed incidence rates of earlier years. The purpose of this advisory is to remind health care providers to consider testing patients presenting with possible tickborne disease at any time of the year, including this fall and winter when deer ticks are active.

Please review this information from the U.S. CDC on the resurgence of New World Screwworm (NWS) in the Americas. It outlines key actions that clinicians can take to recognize, treat, and report cases of NWS myiasis. As of September 17, 2025, there are no confirmed cases of locally-acquired NWS myiasis in Maine or elsewhere in the United States. One state has reported an imported case in a returning traveler. Clinicians should consider NWS in the differential for cases of myiasis in a person who has traveled to an area where the NWS fly is endemic. 

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to provide immunization recommendations based on guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) following the September 18 to 19 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to provide COVID-19 immunization recommendations for 2025–2026 COVID-19 vaccine products (Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax). Vaccination remains the best defense against severe COVID-19 disease.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported an Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) case in a Maine resident. This is the first human EEE case reported in Maine in 2025 and the fourth documented case of EEE in a Maine resident since 2001. The state is elevating the risk level of mosquito-borne diseases across the state to high.

About

Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEE) is a viral illness spread by mosquitoes. EEE virus can cause disease in humans and some mammal and bird species. EEE virus is most commonly found in the eastern half of the United States, including in Maine. 

EEE virus spreads through the bite of an infected mosquito. Though rare, EEE is very serious. EEE cases occur sporadically in Maine, usually during the summer and fall when mosquitoes in Maine are most active. 

Anyone can get EEE, but certain people are at higher risk, including: 

The Maine CDC recently reported a case of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in a resident from Maine. This is the first case of HPS reported in Maine since 2011 and the second documented case of HPS in a Maine resident since U.S. CDC surveillance began in 1993.