Tag: tick born

Dangerous tick-borne virus spreading to more Americans, experts warn

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close up of tick

A rare and potentially fatal tick-borne illness currently spreading across the United States can be traced back to a 1958 case involving a young boy on a farm. The disease, known as Powassan virus, was named for the Ontario town near where it was first discovered. At the time of his death, Lincoln Byers, a 4-year-old living in Canada, had a condition that medical professionals could not explain, the Boston Globe reported. Years later, researchers discovered a tick harboring the same virus on a dead squirrel, finally providing an answer to the tragedy, but foreshadowing a growing public health challenge. While once considered an obscure medical anomaly, Powassan virus cases have reached historic highs in the U.S., data show.

Powassan is most prevalent from late spring through mid-fall, when tick populations peak and outdoor activity increases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 76 Americans were diagnosed with the virus in 2025, the highest annual total on record. Previously, the U.S. averaged just seven to eight diagnoses each year. The virus is primarily transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected woodchuck tick or deer tick. Like other tick-borne illnesses, Powassan is most prevalent from late spring through mid-fall, when tick populations peak and outdoor activity increases. Public health experts warn that the virus’s transmission speed makes it uniquely dangerous.

TICK BITE ER VISITS HIT HIGHEST SEASONAL LEVEL IN YEARS AS DOCTORS WARN OF DISEASE SURGE “One of the most dangerous aspects is its rapid transmission,” Dr. Jorge P. Parada, a medical advisor at the National Pest Management Association in Chicago, told Fox News Digital. “Powassan can be transmitted in as little as 15 minutes after the infected tick bites, while Lyme disease usually requires a 36- to 48-hour attachment time for transmission.”

Source: Dangerous tick-borne virus spreading to more Americans, experts warn | Fox News

You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
Deuteronomy 5:33

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Lyme disease cases in Michigan rise 168% over 5 years, health officials report

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a tick on a person s skin

Lyme disease cases have increased by 168% in the past five years, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Annette Jackson of Hazel Park said she spent years searching for answers about her health. Jackson described repeated hospital visits where doctors could not identify the cause of her symptoms. “I went to the hospital, and the hospital was like, ‘Well, this is not a cold and this is not the flu. We don’t know what you have, but you have something. Your white blood cells are off the charts.’

And they said, ‘There’s nothing we could do for you,’ and they sent me home,” Jackson said. Jackson said she first noticed a bite after playing at the park with her family, but doctors were unable to diagnose her condition at the time. “Life was just debilitating after that, trying to find someone to help me,” she said. After years of symptoms, Jackson said her doctor eventually diagnosed her with Lyme disease. “Honestly, Lyme disease mimics a lot of diseases, a lot of symptoms. So it’s very hard for doctors to pinpoint,” Jackson said. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reports that tick populations are increasing. CBS News Detroit learned that warmer spring months allow ticks more time to mature and bite. State data shows that in 2020, there were 471 new cases of Lyme disease. By 2025, that number had risen to 2,167.

Source: Lyme disease cases in Michigan rise 168% over 5 years, health officials report – CBS Detroit

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