Powassan virus, an extremely rare tick-borne disease, is all the rage after a severe case in a 3-year-old boy in Pennsylvania led to hospitalization.
While swimming in a neighbor’s pool, Jonny Simoson’s mother, Jamie, noticed a tick on her back which she successfully removed, she wrote in a Facebook post. Without thinking about it, the family resumed normal activities until two weeks later, when Jonny’s nursery informed Jamie that he was “depressed, without appetite and complaining of a headache,” she wrote on social media.
After two visits to the doctor, Jonny had a fever of 104, Jamie told The New York Post. His white blood cell count rose to 30,000 and he was unresponsive for nearly five days. Doctors were still unable to determine what caused it. “Things got really scary at that point,” Simonon said. “It was very frustrating looking for an answer. We were terrified that we wouldn’t be able to go home to our son.”
After several diagnostic attempts, doctors finally discovered that Jonny had meningoencephalitis, an infection of the brain and surrounding tissue, according to the outlet. Jonny was treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and 12 days later he was discharged from the hospital.
It wasn’t until three days after his discharge that Jonny was tested for the Powassan virus. But not all cases end like Jonny’s. In May, a 90-year-old woman from Connecticut died from the tick-borne virus.
If you’re wondering how worried you should be about rising diagnoses of this rare disease, we spoke to Jonathan Oliver, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, about the virus. Here are some facts.
This is what you need to know about the Powassan virus
Fewer than 200 cases were reported between 2011 and 2020, according to data collected by the CDC. Powassan virus can only be transmitted through the bite of an infected tick in the US, based on reported cases.
Many people do not develop symptoms of the Powassan virus, but occasionally, for those who do, the symptoms can be severe. “Typical symptoms at first are fever, headache, neck pain depending on which neural tissues are infected, and also vomiting,” says Oliver. “As the disease progresses, it becomes more severe and therefore there is strong neurological involvement,” such as confusion and seizures.
Unfortunately, there is no real cure for the Powassan virus. Treatments are usually for the symptoms that occur as a result of contracting it. There are also no vaccines available to prevent the disease, according to the CDC.
Cases commonly arise in the upper Midwest, such as Minnesota and Wisconsin, and the Northeast, especially the New England area, where Massachusetts is considered the Northeast epicenter of the Powassan virus.
Diseases such as Powassan virus often affect older people more commonly. “This child was just one of the unlucky few to develop the disease, but it can potentially affect anyone,” says Oliver.
‘Prevention is always the best path for tick-borne diseases’
Fortunately, there are precautions you can take, and “prevention is always the best course of action for tick-borne diseases,” according to Oliver. Using any insect repellant that has ingredients accepted by the US Environmental Protection Agency, such as oil of lemon eucalyptus and deet, can protect you from ticks, he says.
Your clothing choices could also keep you safe. Wearing long pants and tucking them into socks is a good way to keep ticks off the outside of your clothes so you can easily remove them, says Oliver. Doing daily tick checks is essential if you’re in a “tick habitat” because the sooner a tick is removed from your skin, the better, he notes.
If you know or suspect you’ve been bitten by a tick and there’s a chance it’s been on your skin for a long time, Oliver suggests checking with your doctor. Ticks carry other viruses such as Lyme disease, which is much more common than Powassan virus.
“Everyone should be aware of and concerned about tick-borne diseases,” Oliver says, “if you’re in potential tick habitat, you’re likely to be exposed to ticks. Especially if you’re in the upper Midwest or Northeast , where we do have a lot of deer ticks biting humans, there’s a high potential for a variety of different diseases.”
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Source: www.cnbc.com