Roughly 10 to 15 percent of patients hospitalized with Powassan virus encephalitis die, and around half of survivors have lasting neurologic sequelae. There is no specific antiviral treatment - care is supportive. The combination of high severity, no treatment, and rapid transmission makes Powassan one of the most concerning emerging tick-borne diseases in North America.
Powassan virus is named for the town of Powassan, Ontario, where in September 1958 virologists D.M. McLean and W.L. Donohue isolated it…
Reported United States Powassan virus cases rose from a handful per year through the 1990s to roughly 30 to 50 per year by the early…
In a deer-tick mouse model, Powassan virus passed to naive mice after as little as 15 minutes of tick attachment. There appears to be no…
Ixodes cookei is the textbook vector of Powassan virus lineage 1 in eastern North America, but it almost never bites humans. Its host…
Ixodes marxi feeds primarily on tree squirrels and rarely bites humans, but it cycles Powassan virus lineage 1 through small mammals along…
Untreated Rocky Mountain spotted fever kills roughly 20 to 25 percent of patients, with most deaths in the second week of illness.…