The number of cases of the Powassan virus, named after the town in Ontario where it was first detected in the 1950s, is increasing in the United States and Canada.
A study conducted by the Yale School of Public Health It has now revealed that there is a large concentration of cases, especially in the United States such as New York, Maine and Connecticut.
But what is the Powassan virus, also known as the “deadly cousin of Lyme disease,” and is it really becoming more prevalent?
What is Powassan virus?
Similar to its ‘cousin’, Lyme disease, Powassan virus is transmitted through tick bites. It is mainly transmitted by the deer or deer tick, also known as Ixodes scapularis or “black-legged tick”.
One of the main problems with Powassan virus compared to Lyme disease is the speed with which it can infect humans.
While the transition time between a tick bite and a person infected with Lyme disease can be two to three days, Powassan can work in as little as 15 minutes, although symptoms often don’t appear for one to four weeks after that.
What are the symptoms of Powassan virus?
The virus is rarely diagnosed, because most infected people don’t show any symptoms.
But for those who do show symptoms, they can be severe.
In addition to fever, chills, fatigue, nausea, and stiffness, the virus can also cause seizures, memory loss, and in a few cases it can be life-threatening.
Why is Yale looking into this now?
The most recent investigation into the virus, conducted by the Yale School of Public Health, began in 2008 and concluded in 2019.
Chantal Vogels is a researcher in the Department of Microbial Disease Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health and a co-author of the study.
In recently published results, I show that until this latest study, there was very little genomic information about Powassan virus.
“We were able to explore the transmission and spread patterns of the virus and decipher the virus’s ecology,” she said. “It’s very important to have surveillance to see what’s out there.”
What were the search results?
The main finding of the study was that the virus is highly concentrated in very specific areas.
The report states: “The virus now appears to be slow to change locations or not to leave at all, thriving in specific hotspots and evolving independently in each one:
“For example, scientists were unable to find any evidence of different groups of the virus mixing with each other within 20 kilometres.”
It has also been noted that there has been an increase in diagnoses in recent years.
From the first case in 1958 to around 2006, only one case has been recorded each year. But since early 2010, dozens of diagnoses have been made almost every year.”
However, the high number of cases is not necessarily a cause for concern.
Powassan virus is still considered a “rare” disease, and the increase in cases has been attributed to the fact that medical professionals are now more willing to look for Powassan when symptoms appear.
