Maine CDC BRACE Program

Lead Organization: Maine Department of Health and Human Services

Program Name: Maine CDC BRACE Program

Summary:
Extreme heat, extreme cold, and vector-borne diseases are the primary hazards addressed through Maine’s program. The program has developed school and community-based educational interventions and delivered them to high risk age groups. The program has also worked to develop extreme-weather response plans for state and local agencies. A large focus of work has been on vector-borne disease and ticks as a changing climate is expected to impact the migration of insects. Lyme disease has been increasing the last eight years in Maine, and Lyme disease is reported in every county in Maine. Maine’s program has developed a real-time data dashboard to track cases of tick borne disease, such as Lyme disease, and tick-related emergency department visits. The data collected through this surveillance helps health officials understand the spread of ticks and how a changing climate affects the tick’s lifecycle. The surveillance also supports and helps create educational campaigns regarding Lyme disease. The program is also working with the University of Maine Climate Change Institute to develop fine-scale climate models specific to Maine.  The models predict disease rates which, in turn, can provide data for local response planning.

Climate-Ready State funded since 2010

To learn more, please visit https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/environmental-health/eohp/climatechange/external icon