United States: Resident of northern Wisconsin has succumbed to death after being infected with a tick-borne virus.
According to the Bayfield County Health Department, the patient ran out of his life in the first week of June because of the Powassan virus.
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The deceased was among three individuals who have been infected with the virus this year, and all three were hospitalized, the state Department of Health Services said in a June 24 bulletin released to healthcare providers and health departments.
The symptoms could be associated with fever, headache, vomiting, and generalized weakness as the black-legged tick that transmits the virus is also known as a deer tick, said DHS.
The agency added that it may also develop into encephalitis-like changes, which include altered mental states, seizures, speech and movement issues, and paralysis, or meningitis-like changes, including severe headaches, sensitivity to light, and neck hardening up, as duluthnewstribune.com reported.
Person dies from tick-borne virus in Bayfield County https://t.co/Fsz8LGim6e
— Duluth News Tribune (@duluthnews) June 27, 2025
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics, according to the severity of the case, 1 out of 10 with a severe case die, and 50% of the severe case cases are left with long-term effects such as memory loss and frequent headaches.
The DHS stated that people whose immune system is compromised, children, and older adults are some risk factors for the neurologic disease caused by the Powassan virus.
DHS has refused to provide the age of the patient who passed on in Bayfield County, citing privacy laws.
The virus has no cure or vaccine. The DHS encouraged individuals to apply tick repellent, inspect and eliminate ticks prior to the instance of biting them, and steer clear of wooded and bushy places where the infection is endemic.
In Minnesota and Wisconsin, cases of Powassan are getting higher. Minnesota documented 14 cases in 2024, and Wisconsin recorded 12 cases.
The reason the cases have increased is unclear, but the deer, which the black-legged tick favors, is present in more numbers, and so is the population of people living in wooded areas, where the ticks thrive.