Tickborne Disease

Insect Repellent Essentials: A Brief Guide

In recognition of the significant public health burden that Lyme disease and other tickborne diseases represent, Governor Murphy has proclaimed May 2023 as Tickborne Disease Awareness Month in New Jersey. While ticks are active most of the year and NJDOH receives reports of tickborne diseases year-round, May is an opportunity to remind healthcare providers and the public that tick season has arrived, to consider tickborne diseases, and to take measures to prevent tick bites. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

The NJDOH Communicable Disease Service (CDS) offers free tickborne disease resources for the public, clinicians, public health professionals, and educators on the ‘Fight the Bite, NJ!’ page. Two items to highlight are the K-12 education toolkit and clinical training modules: 

  • Educators: The K-12 Tickborne Disease Education Toolkit includes age-appropriate PowerPoint presentations with script, student handouts, activity sheets, quiz, parent letters, tick check calendar, and an instructor guide with learning objectives and suggested activities. We encourage schools to use these materials when developing or updating their tickborne disease curricula. 
  • Clinicians & Public Health Professionals: CDC offers free clinical training modules on their Tickborne Disease Continuing Education page with CME, CNE, CPE, CHES, and CPH credits available. NJ Public Health credits are obtainable for many of these activities through NJLMN. For Public Health credits, complete the CDC trainings (certificate of completion required), register on NJLMN by accessing the course catalog and selecting the ‘On-demand 24/7’ tab, and send your certificates of completion to CDSContEd@doh.nj.gov.


Visit the CDS ‘Fight the Bite, NJ!’ page (www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/vectorborne.shtml) to access these resources and additional information on tickborne diseases.