A recent study revealed a rare tick-borne disease capable of killing one person out of ten infected.
The study, conducted by the Bell University School of Medicine, found that the tick-borne virus, called Powassan, was found among people from Connecticut, New York and Maine.
It is rare for the virus to be diagnosed, as only a few dozen cases are discovered each year, because the majority of people who contract it do not show symptoms, according to what was published by the British “Daily Mail”.
Brain swelling and mortality
The disease can lead to swelling of the brain and even death in some cases, while the infection kills one in 10 people with severe symptoms.
Half of those affected also develop lifelong disabilities or brain damage, according to the study.
The virus is spread by ticks Ixodes scapularis, also known as black-legged ticks or deer ticks.
Wild deer – expressionism
It also appears on deer, and squirrel ticks and groundhog ticks can transmit the infection to humans, but these species do not usually bite humans.
The hard black-bodied tick lives in the eastern and north-midwestern United States as well as in southeastern Canada.
It is also a carrier of the deadly Lyme disease, and is found in wooded areas.
signs of infection
In addition, symptoms usually appear within one to four weeks of the infected tick bite.
Signs of infection include fever, headache, vomiting, and general weakness.
While there are no vaccines or drugs against the disease, treatment focuses instead on relieving symptoms, including difficulty breathing and brain swelling.
Expression viruses
Dozens injured since 2010
And Yale researchers discovered that between 1940 and 1975, a large part of the virus appeared in the northeastern United States and was found to be responsible for the bulk of Poasan cases on the North American continent.
In 2006, approximately one case was reported per year. And cases are mounting, with dozens diagnosed each year since late 2010.