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Foster's Daily Democrat
York County resident dies from rare virus after tick bite: What to know
Shawn P. Sullivan Portsmouth Herald
YORK COUNTY, Maine — A person in York County has died from an infection of the tick-borne Powassan virus, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Thursday.
The death is the first fatal case of the virus this year, according to the Maine CDC. Two other infections have been reported in 2024 in Kennebec and Lincoln counties.
The last death to result from this virus occurred in May 2023.
Powassan virus disease is a rare but often serious disease, the Maine CDC stated on its website. The virus belongs to a group called flaviviruses, which can cause infection of the brain (encephalitis) or the membranes around the brain and spinal cord (meningitis).
Cases of Powassan are rare in the United States, with about 20 to 50 cases reported each year across the country from 2018 to 2023, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services stated in a news release.
“Maine identified a record number of seven cases of Powassan in 2023 and has recorded 25 infections of the virus since 2014, including four deaths in the last decade,” the press release states.
People can get the virus when bitten by an infected deer or woodchuck tick, the Maine CDC said. The Powassan virus may spread from ticks to people in as little as 15 minutes after a bite...
Foster's Daily Democrat
York County resident dies from rare virus after tick bite: What to know
Shawn P. Sullivan Portsmouth Herald
YORK COUNTY, Maine — A person in York County has died from an infection of the tick-borne Powassan virus, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Thursday.
The death is the first fatal case of the virus this year, according to the Maine CDC. Two other infections have been reported in 2024 in Kennebec and Lincoln counties.
The last death to result from this virus occurred in May 2023.
Powassan virus disease is a rare but often serious disease, the Maine CDC stated on its website. The virus belongs to a group called flaviviruses, which can cause infection of the brain (encephalitis) or the membranes around the brain and spinal cord (meningitis).
Cases of Powassan are rare in the United States, with about 20 to 50 cases reported each year across the country from 2018 to 2023, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services stated in a news release.
“Maine identified a record number of seven cases of Powassan in 2023 and has recorded 25 infections of the virus since 2014, including four deaths in the last decade,” the press release states.
People can get the virus when bitten by an infected deer or woodchuck tick, the Maine CDC said. The Powassan virus may spread from ticks to people in as little as 15 minutes after a bite...