Overview

• Officials are investigating what could become only the second Powassan virus case on the island in 20 years and are awaiting laboratory confirmation.
• The infant remains hospitalized at Massachusetts General Hospital with brain inflammation and seizures but has shown steady improvement under supportive care.
• Powassan virus, carried by deer ticks and transmissible within minutes, has no vaccine or specific treatment and relies on symptom management.
• Emergency room visits for tick bites in the Northeast are at a five-year high, prompting heightened prevention advisories.
• Warmer winters and growing deer populations have extended tick activity seasons and sustained a persistent 1–2% infection rate among deer ticks.