The Maine CDC marks Lyme Disease Awareness Month with Prevention Tips
AUGUSTA-- The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) urges Maine residents and visitors to take precautions to prevent tick bites. Governor Janet Mills proclaimed May Lyme Disease Awareness Month. This year's theme is "Don't Let a Tick Make You Sick."
Preventing tick bites is the best way to keep from getting a tickborne disease. Deer ticks in Maine can carry the germs that cause diseases in people and animals. The most common tickborne diseases in Maine include Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis. Other tickborne diseases found in Maine are Hard Tick Relapsing Fever and Powassan virus disease.
Deer ticks live in wooded, leafy, and shrubby areas and are found in all 16 counties in Maine. They are currently active, so anyone spending time outdoors should take steps to limit their exposure to ticks.
Preliminary data from the Maine Tracking Network shows that health care providers reported a record 3,218 cases of Lyme disease, 1,284 cases of anaplasmosis, and 309 cases of babesiosis in 2024,
While enjoying the outdoors, the Maine CDC recommends these tips to prevent tick bites:
- T: Take and use an EPA-approved repellent. Use DEET, picaridin, IR3535 (Ethyl butylacetylaminopropionate), or oil of lemon eucalyptus on skin. Use permethrin on clothing only.
- I: Inspect your whole body for ticks daily and after outdoor activities. Check family members and pets too.
- C: Cover your skin by wearing a light-colored long sleeve shirt and pants. Tuck your pants into socks.
- K: Know when you are in tick habitat and take precautions in areas where ticks may live.
- S: Shower when you get home to remove crawling ticks. Put clothes in the dryer on high heat for 15 minutes before washing to kill ticks on clothes.
The most common symptom of Lyme disease is a "bull's-eye" rash anywhere on the body. Other symptoms of tickborne disease include flu-like symptoms, including joint and muscle pain, fatigue, chills, fever, headache, and swollen lymph nodes. Some of these symptoms may look like COVID-19 or the flu. If you experience any of these symptoms, talk to a health care provider. Make sure to mention a recent tick bite or time spent in tick habitat.
The University of Maine Cooperative Extension Tick Lab offers tick identification at no charge for Maine residents. The Tick Lab also offers testing of ticks for infection to Maine residents for a fee of $20. Testing typically takes three days and should be used for surveillance purposes only and not for self-diagnosis, as finding a tick on you, even if it bit you, does not necessarily mean that any germs were transmitted. Contact a health care provider if you have concerns about tickborne illnesses. Find more information at ticks.umaine.edu. To learn more about how to be tick free, visit www.maine.gov/lyme.