Powassan virus is the scary new reason to avoid ticks

Lyme disease isn’t the only tick-borne illness that can come from a walk in the woods. Health experts are warning that another pathogen, Powassan virus, can cause dangerous inflammation in the brain and may be transmitted to humans much faster than Lyme. While it is rare, a recent study of ticks in Maine, along with a few widely reported cases of human infection, suggest that it may be becoming more common. What is Powassan virus? The virus causes encephalitis, or swelling of the brain, and it kills about 10% of people who become sick, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About half of people are left with permanent neurological problems. Powassan virus was first identified in 1958 and was first recognized in deer ticks, the type that bite humans and also carry Lyme disease, in the mid-1990s. About 75 cases have been reported to the CDC over the last...