AUGUSTA — The Maine Medical Center Research Institute, in partnership with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, is expanding its efforts in northern and western Maine to track the spread of the ticks that may carry Lyme disease.

“We encourage submission of ticks from northern and western Maine to better map the location of deer ticks and to learn more about the spread of Lyme disease,” said Dr. Stephen Sears, state epidemiologist with Maine CDC.

He said they need to gather more information from Aroostook, Piscataquis, Penobscot, Somerset, Franklin and Oxford counties.

The research institute’s Vector-borne Disease Laboratory tracks the spread of deer ticks throughout the state. It has been doing so for two decades, creating maps of how the disease is spreading.

To submit ticks for identification, the tick should be captured a small, watertight and crush-proof bottle with rubbing alcohol, and sent to the Vector-borne Disease Laboratory, Maine Medical Center Research Institute, 75 John Roberts Road, Suite 9B, South Portland, ME 04106.

Also include name, address, phone number, date and town the tick was found. Instructions and a submission form can be downloaded at www.mmcri.org/lyme.