Scientists are stumped by a jump in cases of Powassan virus,a life-threatening tick-borne neurological diseaseOn paper, Powassan virus sounds like your basic nightmare. A tick-borne infection with no vaccine and no cure, or it kills 1 in 10 people who get it and causes long-term neurological problems in half of reported cases. Fortunately,Powassan virus disease for decades had affected only approximately one person a year in the U.
S.—most likely because it was typically transmitted from woodchucks to humans by a tick that rarely bites people.
Source: tufts.edu