Black-Legged Ticks Linked to Powassan Encephalitis in New York State- death reported in Saratoga Co.

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130715091222.htm

Black-Legged Ticks Linked to Encephalitis in New York State

July 15, 2013 ? The number of tick-borne illnesses reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on the rise. Lyme disease leads the pack, with some 35,000 cases reported annually. In the Northeast, the black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) that spread Lyme disease also infect people with other maladies, among them anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and -- as a new paper in the journal Parasites and Vectors reports -- Powassan encephalitis...

...Journal Reference:

Alan P Dupuis Ii, Ryan J Peters, Melissa a Prusinski, Richard C Falco, Richard S Ostfeld and Laura D Kramer. Isolation of deer tick virus (Powassan virus, lineage II) from Ixodes scapularis and detection of antibody in vertebrate hosts sampled in the Hudson Valley, New York State. Parasites and Vectors, 2013 DOI: 10.1186/1756-3305-6-185

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Black-Legged Ticks Linked to Powassan Encephalitis in New York State- death reported in Saratoga Co.

Source: http://www.fox23news.com/news/local...tially-fatal-tick/Cew3IZxQ_UCbim3KMkgXug.cspx


Local case confirmed of potentially fatal tick virus
Published: 5:20 pm
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Updated: 5:21 pm

The New York State Department of Health says there was one confirmed case of the deer tick virus, also known as Powassan virus, in May of this year in Saratoga County.

Dr. Laura Kramer with the Wadsworth Center tells NEWS10 that one person has died from this virus. She says the person died within 8 months of severe symptoms...

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Black-Legged Ticks Linked to Powassan Encephalitis in New York State- death reported in Saratoga Co.

Source: http://www.dailyfreeman.com/article...520f70d66dbd1465488059.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Powassan virus victim, a Poughkeepsie teen, mourned
Published: Saturday, August 17, 2013
By Mid-Hudson News Network

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Hundreds gathered for a waterfront ceremony Friday evening to pay respects to Joseph Osumbe Elone, a 17-year-old who died Aug. 4 after contracting the tick-borne Powassan virus...

...There have been 39 deaths in the US since 2008 attributed to Powassan, named after a town in Ontario where it was first observed.

Scientists say a person can be infected 15 minutes after a tick attaches, but symptoms do not appear for one to three weeks afterwards.

Elone, who was an incoming senior at Poughkeepsie High School, had been suffering from a mild cough for several weeks, according to his father, Benedict Elone...

 

[Biological]

Re: Black-Legged Ticks Linked to Powassan Encephalitis in New York State- death reported in Saratoga Co.

2012 Nationally Notifiable Diseases and Conditions
and Current Case Definitions
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/nndss/document/2012_Case Definitions.pdf

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Powassan Virus Neuroinvasive Disease Cases Reported by State, 2001-2012
http://www.cdc.gov/powassan/pdf/POWNDbyYear20012012.pdf

Clip:
Data table: N=47
From 2001 through 2012, POWV neuroinvasive disease cases have been reported in Maine (2), Michigan (1), Minnesota (19), New York (13), Pennsylvania (1), Virginia (1), and Wisconsin (10).
http://www.cdc.gov/powassan/pdf/POWNDbyYear20012012.pdf

Statistics & Maps | Powassan Virus Disease | CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/powassan/statistics.html

Powassan Virus Background
http://diseasemaps.usgs.gov/pow_background.html

Source:
Home | Powassan Virus Disease | CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/powassan/

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Clip:
INTRODUCTION
Powassan virus (POWV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) in the family of Flaviviridae, genus
Flavivirus. Human POWV infections are rare and associated with acute onset of fever, profound muscle weakness, confusion, headache, nausea, vomiting, and stiff neck. Severe signs and symptoms include respiratory
distress, tremors, seizures, paralysis, and coma.1-3 Most individuals with POWV infections develop meningoencephalitis and many have long-term neurologic sequelae; 10%-15% of cases are fatal.3-5 POWV is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected tick. Symptoms usually begin at least 1 week (range 8-34 days) following infection.2 Apart from supportive and symptomatic management, there are no specific treatments for or vaccines available to prevent POWV infection.

Initially isolated in 1958 from the brain of a boy aged 5 years who developed encephalitis and died, POWV
was named after the northern Ontario town where the child resided.5 The first POWV infection reported in
the United States occurred in New Jersey in 1970. Since then, POWV infections have been reported rarely and
have occurred in Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, and Wisconsin.6-7
Tickborne Powassan Virus Infections Among Wisconsin Resident
http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/communicable/tickborne/PDFfiles/POWApril2010WMJ.pdf

 

[Biological]

Re: Black-Legged Ticks Linked to Powassan Encephalitis in New York State- death reported in Saratoga Co.

Powassan virus victim, a Poughkeepsie teen, mourned - DailyFreeman.com

Clip:
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Hundreds gathered for a waterfront ceremony Friday evening to pay respects to Joseph Osumbe Elone, a 17-year-old who died Aug. 4 after contracting the tick-borne Powassan virus.

Scores of friends and dozens of teachers praised the aspiring engineer, who collapsed suddenly while preparing for his mother’s birthday party.

Clip:

Elone, who was an incoming senior at Poughkeepsie High School, had been suffering from a mild cough for several weeks, according to his father, Benedict Elone.

The student had just returned from the drug store to get a package of cough drops, when he fell to the ground before reaching his front door.

“There was Joe sprawled on the floor in front of the house,” Benedict Elone said. “That was it - one moment he’s going to the front door, the next moment he’s dead.”

http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2013/08/17/news/doc520f70d66dbd1465488059.txt

Very sad story!