Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I wish to speak about the issue of Lyme and tick-borne diseases. Fall is a beautiful time of year, especially in Maine, as it is the season for hiking, hunting, and leaf- peeping. Unfortunately, fall is also tick season and a time of increased risk of Lyme disease. Each year, 30,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. The most recent CDC data noted that 96 percent of those cases were concentrated in just 14 States in the Upper Midwest and Northeast. Maine has one of the highest and fastest growing incident rates of the disease, with cases increasing from 225 in 2004 to 1,169 cases in 2014. Fall is a time of heightened risk because the immature ticks, or nymphs, that fed heavily during the late spring and early summer have now molted into adults and must feed again. Although larger and easier to spot than the tiny nymphs, they are numerous and active. Lyme disease was long thought to be a form of juvenile arthritis and was not identified as being spread by ticks until 1976. It is still considered an emerging disease and knowledge gaps remain. For example, diagnostic methods for tick-borne illnesses have not advanced as much as they should have. Consequently, the validity and accuracy of information regarding the incidence and geographic spread of the disease may be lacking.…”