WHEREAS, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported over 2,600 probable cases of Lyme disease in 2022; and

WHEREAS, the actual incidence of Lyme disease in Maine is likely much higher than reported, disproportionately affecting children between five and fifteen years and adults over sixty-five years; and

WHEREAS, tickborne illnesses can be prevented by staying in the center of wooded paths, wearing light-colored, long-sleeved clothing, using an EPA-approved insect repellent, performing daily tick checks, and properly removing ticks; and

WHEREAS, public awareness and education are necessary to help reduce tickborne illnesses in Maine by promoting awareness of Lyme disease, other tickborne illnesses, and the regular use of prevention measures, as illustrated by the 2023 theme “Tick Free ME”; and

WHEREAS, the 124th Maine Legislature enacted Public Law Chapter 494, L.D. 1709, Item 1, An Act to Enhance Public Awareness of Lyme Disease;

NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim the month of May 2023 as

Lyme Disease Awareness Month

in Maine, and I urge all the citizens of Maine to become aware of the steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of tickborne illnesses.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this twelfth day of April Two Thousand Twenty-Three