A deer tick; also called a blacklegged tick; Ixodes scapularis. (CDC Photo) The Connecticut Department of Public Health has reported a second Powassan virus infection case this year.The elderly New London County woman, in her 90s, died.
She is the third known death ever in the state from the tick-borne disease.She became ill in early May and was admitted to a hospital with fever, altered mental status, headache, chills, rigors, chest pain, and nausea.
Her condition worsened, and she became unresponsive over the next two weeks. She died on May 17.The unnamed woman did have a known tick bite which was removed two weeks prior to the onset of symptoms.
Laboratory tests performed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Laboratory in Ft. Collins, Colorado confirmed the presence of antibodies to POWV.The first patient diagnosed with POWV this year was a Windham County man in his 50s who became ill in late March.