• About 200 cases reported in Maine every year, most during the summer.

• Disease comes only from deer ticks.

• Symptoms begin within days or weeks, often, but not always, starting with a red rash that can look like a bull’s-eye.

• More severe symptoms include joint pain, fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, nervous system problems and facial paralysis.

• Treatment is a course of antibiotics, although doctors debate how long treatment should last.

• A vaccine prevents the disease in dogs. The shot for humans was pulled from the market because of a lack of demand and a concern about side effects.
Deer tick facts
• Both baby deer ticks and the adult deer ticks can transmit Lyme disease.

• Baby deer ticks are about the size of a pinhead. This is peak season for them.

• Adult deer ticks are often shiny, reddish brown with black heads.

• Deer ticks favor trees and leaves, although they can be found on the coast or in grass.

• They must feed on someone for 36 to 48 hours in order to transmit Lyme disease. The risk of Lyme disease is eliminated if the tick is removed immediately after it bites.

• They can also transmit ehrlichiosis, a rare disease with flu-like symptoms, and babesiosis, a malaria-like disease that affects red blood cells.

• Use insect repellents with DEET and protective clothing to prevent tick bites. For pets, use only repellents OK’d by a vet.

• To remove a tick, grasp it with fine tweezers as close to the skin as possible. Pull gently but firmly. It could take several minutes. Do not handle ticks with your bare hands.
What you can do
• The Vector-borne Disease Laboratory at the Maine Medical Center tests ticks at no cost.

Seal the tick in a small, crush-proof vial with 70-percent alcohol. Pad the vial with paper towels and seal it in a plastic bag. Include the form found at www.mmcri.org/lyme/lymehome.html and mail it to:

Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory

Maine Medical Center Research Institute

75 John Roberts Road, Suite 9B

South Portland, ME 04106

The lab will identify the type of tick and whether it has fed long enough to transmit Lyme disease. It cannot tell you whether the tick carried Lyme disease.
Sources: Maine Bureau of Health and the Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory