Woman dies from rare Powassan virus in Connecticut, health department says
A Connecticut resident has died from a rare but potentially dangerous tick-borne illness.
The state's Department of Public Health announced Tuesday a fatal case of Powassan virus, which is transmitted through the bite of an infected woodchuck tick.
The person was a New London County woman in her 90s, health officials reported. She became ill in early May and was admitted to a local hospital with fever, altered mental status, headache, chills, rigors, chest pain and nausea.
As her condition worsened, she became unresponsive and died May 17, officials said.
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“This incident reminds us that residents need to take actions to prevent tick bites now through the late fall,” Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani wrote in a release.
Cases of Powassan virus are rare in the United States. About 25 have been reported each year since 2015.
Most recently, in April, a Maine resident died from a confirmed case of the virus, the Centers for Disease Control announced.
Typically it takes a week to one month after the bite from an infected tick for a person to develop symptoms of POWV disease, and the virus can be transmitted in as little as 15 minutes after the tick attaches.
Most people infected with the virus experience no symptoms or a mild flu-like illness, but some develop severe illness affecting the central nervous system.
About 1 of 10 cases of severe illness are fatal, and about half of survivors experience long-term health problems, officials said.
Severe cases often begin with fever, vomiting, headache or weakness and rapidly progress to confusion, loss of coordination, difficulty speaking or seizures.
There is no vaccine or specific treatment for the virus.
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Health officials recommend using insect repellent and avoiding high-risk areas including tall grass, where ticks may be found. They also suggest checking for ticks after being outside to reduce the chance of being infected.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Powassan virus death in CT: Woman dies after infected tick bite
