Powassan Virus Found in 5 Upstate New York Tick Pools

 

By Jon Campbell

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