Powassan Virus Found in Massachusetts Ticks

June 21, 2022

https://www.westernmassnews.com/2022/06/10/powassan-virus-found-massachusetts-ticks/  News Story Here (Approx. 3 Min)

By Mary Wilson, Photojournalist: Erik Rosario and Ryan Trowbridge
Updated: Jun. 10, 2022 at 4:00 PM CDT

AMHERST, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – A western Massachusetts tick testing company has found several ticks have tested positive for the Powassan virus, not long after a Connecticut woman in her 90s died of the tick-borne virus.

Scientists at Tick Report in Amherst are busy testing around 1,000 ticks a week, taking a close look under the microscope, and extracting DNA.

“June is going to be the worst month of the year for deer ticks, really the riskiest tick bite that you can get,” said Paul Killinger, education director at Tick Report.

(See link for news story)
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**Comment**
I just found a juvenile black legged tick on my towel, on my deck approx. 6 feet away from trees but separated by much and rocks.
One minute, no tick, and the next minute there it was.
I believe the tick blew from the nearby trees onto the deck, even though most researchers deny ticks dropping from trees, even though birds transport ticks everywhere, including trees where they may drop off.
This TV anchor got infected this way, and a Lyme advocate told me that ticks blow into their pool from nearby trees regularly.
For more:

Powassan is NOT rare:

http://www.coppelabs.com/blog/why-is-powassan-virus-infection-still-described-as-rare-and-mysterious/  Excerpt:  

For the last two years, Coppe Laboratories has dedicated a significant amount of time and resources to dispelling the myth that infection with Powassan virus, a virus transmitted by tick bite, is rare. The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) reports only 100 cases of Powassan virus infection in the United States in the last 10 years. Indeed, that statistic gives the illusion that Powassan infection is rare. However, did you know that the only infections reported to CDC are those that are life-threatening, particularly cases causing severe inflammation of the brain like the case reported in LiveScience? Coppe has published three new papers in the last year that clearly show Powassan virus infection is not rare are at all, and until testing for this virus is included as part of tick-borne disease screening panels infections will continue to be underreported. Coppe’s Powassan Guide, which can be downloaded from the website, summarizes the findings from both tick and human Powassan prevalence studies, as well as defining the patient populations that would benefit most from Powassan testing.

Category:

Activism, research, Ticks, Viruses

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