CUMBERLAND, Maine — In 2023, 3,836 Mainers contracted a tick-borne disease, according to the Maine CDC. Most of them were diagnosed with Lyme disease.
As cases of tick-borne diseases rise in Maine and across the country, there is now a new national strategy kicking off to combat the trend.
"One of the problems with tick-borne disease, especially Lyme disease, it can be difficult to diagnose," Dr. Sean McCloy with the Integrative Health Center of Maine in Cumberland said. "People can be symptomatic or be sick for months or years before they see a diagnosis."
One day, this might no longer be the case, thanks to the new strategy.
In 2019, the Kay Hagan Tick Act was passed by Congress and signed into law. The bill, authored by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, required the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a strategy to fight tick-borne diseases such as Lyme.
"At its core, the strategy sets out goals to better prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat tick-borne illnesses,” Sen. Collins told NEWS CENTER Maine.
The strategy lays out five different goals:
- Better understand when, where, and how people are exposed to and get sick or die from VBDs.
- Develop, evaluate, and improve tools, methods, and guidance to diagnose VBDs and their pathogens.
- Develop, evaluate, and improve tools, methods, and guidance to prevent and control VBDs.
- Develop and assess drugs and treatment strategies for VBDs.
- Disseminate and implement public health tools, programs, and collaborations to prevent, detect, diagnose, and respond to VBD threats.
"My hope is Maine will be an active participant in finding out ways to better diagnose and treat diseases that are tick-borne," Collins said.
The senator said she's most excited by the goal set in the new tragedy aiming to reduce the number of Lyme disease cases in the country by 25 percent by 2035.