US: a non-agenarian who died from a tick-borne virus

In Connecticut, United States, a woman in her 90s died after contracting Powassan encephalomyelitis, a rare tick-borne viral disease.

The tragedy struck New London County, Connecticut. In early June 2022, an American woman in her 90s died after contracting the Powassan virus from a tick bite. Rarely (about 28 cases are reported each year worldwide), the virus kills about half the people it infects.

Patients begin with fever, headache, and nausea, and the virus migrates to the brain, causing irreversible damage at best. The Powassan virus cannot be transmitted from human to human, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to her doctors, the American woman was admitted to hospital in mid-May, “two weeks after being bitten by a tick at the beginning of the month.” Upon her arrival, she suffered from fever, headache, chest pain and “altered mental state”. She died 14 days later after she lost consciousness, according to closermag.