New modules on tick and mosquito diseases and prevention that were developed by the Maine CDC Division of Infectious Disease with input from the Maine DOE are now available to the state’s schools.
Programs are free and include downloadable and printable educator’s guides, presentations, activity books, interactive activity instructions, and pre- and post-tests and answer keys. These modules have been field tested and are aligned to the Maine Learning Results.
Maine CDC will hold a live webinar to review the materials and answer questions on Thursday, April 30 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. The webinar can be accessed here. Participants who stay for the full webinar will receive a certificate for one contact hour.
Ticks and mosquitoes are known to spread Lyme disease, West Nile and other vector borne pathogens to humans in Maine. Children in Maine ages 5-14 are a high-risk group for Lyme disease. The free programs provide education concerning tick and mosquito biology, diseases they can transmit, and instruction on ways to decrease the risk of tick and mosquito bites.
The programs will benefit students as well as teachers, parents and families. Teachers and school nurses are encouraged to use the developed materials in their schools. The first 10 schools to implement the tick and mosquito programs in their classrooms will receive a free set of tick samples, as well as tick kits for each of the students in the classroom.
For more information about the tick and mosquito curriculum, click here or contact disease.reporting@maine.gov.