By
ALBANY - An ultra-rare, sometimes-fatal
virus was found in 22 total ticks from five separate pools in upstate
New York, state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said Tuesday.
State
health regulators boosted surveillance of ticks earlier this year after
confirming three cases in Saratoga County of the Powassan virus, a
tick-borne illness that has caused death in about 10 percent of cases
nationwide.
That extra surveillance turned up 2,700 ticks at 30 locations in Saratoga County.
Of those, five pools comprising 22 ticks tested positive for Powassan, Zucker said at a state Senate hearing Tuesday.
"The
enhanced surveillance will continue in the fall with collection of
adult ticks from many of these same sites, as well as collection and
testing of blood from hunter-killed deer, for previous exposure to
Powassan," Zucker said.
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Source: http://www.lohud.com
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