Powassan virus, spread by ticks, could be worse than Lyme disease. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/powassan-virus-spread-by-ticks-could-be-worse-than-lyme-disease/ NEW YORK -- It spreads like Lyme disease, but doctors say it's even worse. Ticks in parts of the northeastern U.S. and around the Great Lakes have been found to carry a rare and potentially life-threatening virus. CBS2 New York reports, doctors warn that the Powassan virus can come on with very sudden, severe symptoms. There is no known treatment or cure. "The doctor just has to support you during the acute illness and hope that you survive," Dr. Daniel Cameron explained. Cameron is president of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society. He said that if bitten by a Powassan-infected tick, you can get the virus within a matter of minutes, and while the symptoms are similar to Lyme disease, they are more severe. "You can get seizures, high fevers, stiff neck. It comes on so suddenly that it's the kind of thing people go to the emergency room for," he explained. Researchers with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station said the Powassan virus is starting to show up in Bridgeport and Branford. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it has also been seen around the Great Lakes, primarily in late spring, early summer, and mid-fall, when ticks are most active. Only about 50 cases of Powassan have been reported in the U.S. in the last 10 years. "I couldn't imagine having something worse than this. It sounds really awful," Lyme disease patient Jennifer Cirigliano said. Cirigliano was diagnosed with Lyme disease 2 years ago. The 15-year-old said it's been a long road of recovery. "I was getting scared that there could be seriously something wrong," she said. Now, with this emerging tick-borne illness, doctors say there's even more reason to be on the lookout throughout the spring and summer. "Be more vigilant about checking. I can't stay indoors. Summer is the time to be outside," one woman said. There are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Experts suggest using bug spray, wearing long pants and long sleeves outdoors, avoiding wooded areas, and checking yourself for ticks after you've spent time outside.
One more to add to the list. Interesting that we never seemed to have ticks here but we have them this year. Maybe I brought some back from the UP?
Apparently it only exhibits these affects ~4% of those bitten. There is a lot of scare tactics(sensationalizing) with these "new" actually old diseases.
When I used to work behind the "cheddar curtain", me and the other yoopers would show up to work usually about the same time. The boss and his #1 butt kisser would be standing outside (on nice summer mornings) and the #1 guy would always say, "Here come the woodticks!"
I keep the ticks under control in our yard and woods. If we ventured 100 ft off our property to the neighbor's pond, we'd come home covered in them. We had an infestation of them in the detached garage one year, I think they were hitching a ride on the lawn mower. Took care of that too, the garage is now a bug free zone...sorry mud daubers. Ticks give the wife the heebie jeebies and I'd rather not deal with her freaking out every time she goes outside or up near the woods. I'm not too fond of them either.
Great. I get a couple hundred of these damm things every year and have always worried about the disease they carry more than any other insect. One more thing to worry about. Best thing I have found to keep the ticks away is Sawyer insect repellent. My wife hates any of the Deet products and the Sawyers is Deet free, i think it contains Permethrin and you treat your clothes with it instead of your skin.
I'm heading to Powassan Ontario (Name place of this newly found virus) for work tomorrow.Thankfully it's below freezing there tonight and only a high of about 38*F tomorrow so hopefully the ticks are still a little lethargic.
Yikes. I got Lyme a few years back; odd thing is, I seemed to have contracted it in the dead of winter. I remember sitting in the chair contemplating the extraordinary nature of this (as I was puking from the Doxycycline), when I felt a strange tickling on my skin near my armpit. You guessed it, it was a tick--in February. Creeped me out for a few days, I was checking me, the furniture, the cat...never found any others. Figured I got it from the firewood. That was when I only used a small amount of wood for the fireplace, before I started hoarding 6 cords at a time for the stove
XXL, Thanks for the info… I had a "BAD" case of Lyme's back in 2011 and it SUCKED BAD!!! I still feel it today…My God what else do we need coming down the pike.
