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Susan M. Collins represents Maine in the U.S. Senate.
Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses continue to pose a major public health threat. An estimated 500,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year, a stunning increase of more than 2,000 percent over the last 20 years. Here in Maine, a record 4,200 cases were reported in 2025, more than three times the number reported in 2020. Experts predict tick populations will increase again this year following a winter that was not consistently cold enough to reduce their numbers.
Americans with Lyme disease often experience a complex diagnostic odyssey that can take months or even years. I will never forget when Paula Jackson Jones of Damariscotta told me that it took two years, scores of tests, 23 physicians, and $250,000 in medical expenses before she finally learned that she had Lyme disease. Paula went on to found a Lyme support organization in our state.
Nearly seven years ago, my friend and former colleague Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina passed away from complications of a tick-borne virus. Before the end of that year, the Kay Hagan Tick Act, which I co-authored, was signed into law. It established a comprehensive approach to combat Lyme and other vector-borne diseases at the national, state, and local levels, and directed the Department of Health and Human Services to develop and implement a public health strategy to combat vector-borne diseases, including Lyme disease. This strategy was released in February 2024 and is already showing results. One of the strategy’s goals — to eliminate deaths from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in Arizona tribal communities — was achieved last year.
Earlier this month, I led legislation strengthening that landmark law to unanimous Senate passage. The Kay Hagan Tick Reauthorization Act, which I authored with Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota, renews these critical federal efforts for five years. I am optimistic that the House will pass the bill before the end of the year.
Among the programs extended are the Regional Centers of Excellence in Vector-Borne Disease, which have supported more than 225 prevention and control projects and trained more than 8,500 local vector control professionals and more than 630 undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students. The bill also renews Centers of Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) grants to state health departments for surveillance, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and public awareness. Since 2019, this funding has helped increase the number of health departments reporting tick-surveillance data from six to 44.
I am encouraged by a clinical trial for a Lyme disease vaccine that is now underway at the MaineHealth Institute for Research with support made possible through the Tick Act. It has always struck me as unfortunately ironic that my beloved Labrador retriever Pepper can be vaccinated against Lyme disease, yet we humans cannot. I hope this trial will be successful, as a safe and effective vaccine would represent a major breakthrough in our fight against Lyme disease and help protect millions of Americans from this growing public health threat.
The University of Maine Tick Lab also is translating research into practical tools for Mainers. It developed a kit that allows members of the public to submit ticks for pathogen testing, helping researchers identify and track disease risks across the state. The lab also works closely with game wardens, foresters, and others routinely exposed to tick bites. Through my role on the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have secured more than $6 million for the lab and its efforts. This includes $2.5 million to strengthen tick and pathogen surveillance across northern New England, $2 million to study safer alternatives to conventional pesticides and how climate affects tick management, and more than $1.5 million to expand prevention education in rural communities.
Maine’s record Lyme disease case numbers make clear that this public health threat remains urgent. The Kay Hagan Tick Reauthorization Act will strengthen the research, surveillance, prevention, and public education efforts needed to confront it. By sustaining these efforts, we can improve early diagnosis, advance promising treatments, and spare more patients and their families the prolonged illness, uncertainty, and expense that Paula endured.