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, according to health officials.

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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Protect yourself:Protect yourself from infected ticks carrying life-threatening Powassan virus

“This incident reminds us that residents need to take actions to prevent tick bites now through the late fall,” DPH Commissioner Manisha Juthani wrote in a DPH release.

Cases of Powassan virus are rare in the United States, with about 25 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 to develop symptoms of POWV disease, and the virus can be transmitted in as little as 15 minutes after the tick first attaches.

Protect yourself from infected ticks carrying life-threatening Powassan virus

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 one out of 10 cases of severe illness are fatal and approximately 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 nor a specific treatment for the virus.

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