PORTLAND, Maine - Maine's number of Lyme disease cases will exceed 1,000 for the fourth straight year.
The Portland Press Heraldreports the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention reported 1,231 Lyme infections through November this year. That figure is on track to be the second-highest on record.
State data show the state has exceeded 1,000 cases every year since 2011 and set a record of 1,377 cases in 2013. That figure is more than five times the number reported a decade ago according to the Maine CDC.
A new lab scheduled for completion at the University of Maine in 2017 is expected to accelerate the process of identifying infected ticks. That will give doctors information more quickly and could speed up diagnosis and treatment of the tick-borne illness.