Thread:
Heartbroken to hear former US Senator Kay Hagan, of North Carolina, has died, following a three-year struggle with encephalitis caused by tick-borne Powassan virus. lymedisease.org/tick-borne-pow…
Powassan is a Flavivirus (related to Zika, Dengue, West Nile, and tick-borne encephalitis virus) carried by the same black-legged tick that transmits Lyme disease. Flaviviridae are a deadly family of viruses known to cause brain swelling. /2 lymedisease.org/lyme-sci-powas…
Black-legged ticks are especially dangerous as they are found in 1/2 of all U.S. counties and can transmit more than one pathogen at a time--including Powassan virus. #POWV
The first case of Powassan virus was discovered in 1958 in Ontario, Canada. It is now established along the East Coast from Virginia to Nova Scotia, in Michigan,& Wisconsin, broadly throughout Canada, and in rare instances has been detected in CO & CA. #POWV /4
Besides the fact that Powassan is deadly, it has the potential to become epidemic just like #Lyme disease.
Powassan may already be much more prevalent than we think. One study in WI of the patients who tested positive for Lyme 17% had serologic evidence of POWV infection. Meaning some people may get a lighter case than others. This is a timeline I made of the symptoms of Powassan./6
In 2017 I wrote an update on Powassan after US Senator Kay Hagen was discharged from the hospital. I was really hopeful that she had continued to make progress. My heart goes out to her family and friends. So sorry. lymedisease.org/lyme-sci-powas…
Powassan virus is one of the many reasons I DO NOT promote the "only worry if the tick is attached for 24-36 hours" (POWV as well as Borrelia miyamotoi can be transmitted in as little as 15 min). /end lymedisease.org/types-of-ticks/
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