The state Department of Health has confirmed a second case where a Saratoga County resident was infected with Powassan virus, and suspects that a third county resident has contracted the disease as well.
Neither person has died, though the person whose case was confirmed remained hospitalized as of Tuesday, according to DOH. The person who is suspected to have had it was hospitalized but has been released, and test results on that person were pending. Officials have not said where the patients were from
The virus is spread through tick bites, and a Gansevoort man died from it earlier this year. His death was announced last week.
The Health Department is stepping up testing and collection of ticks from Saratoga County in an effort to find out if there is a higher incidence of the virus in ticks in this region, said agency spokesman Gary Holmes.
He said the DOH will be asking for expedited tests of the ticks that have been collected during routine tick collection efforts in recent months, and also plans to expand collection sites to take in more of the insects for testing, Holmes said.
Holmes said over 200 ticks were collected from five sites already, and the DOH hopes to have test results on them by early August.
"We are adding 10 more sites to bolster that sampling pool," Holmes said. "We are trying to determine if this is a rare occurrence. We are trying to figure out if there is a reason why it's (infections) have been here."
Holmes said Powassan infections are still rare. None of the ticks that DOH has caught for testing in Saratoga County over the past nine years has tested positive for it.
"We do know from these tests that Powassan is present in Saratoga County, but it is very rare," Holmes said.
In all, there have been 26 confirmed cases in New York over 17 years, Holmes said.
The virus is transmitted by infected ticks and causes brain swelling that can be fatal.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said signs and symptoms of infection can include fever, headache, vomiting, weakness, confusion, seizures and memory loss. They usually appear a week to a month after the bite occurs.
Long-term neurological problems may occur. There is no specific treatment, but people with severe Powassan virus illnesses often need to be hospitalized to receive respiratory support, intravenous fluids or medications to reduce swelling in the brain.
The best defense is prevention of tick bites. Health officials recommend that those who venture into woods and fields take precautions such as DEET or Permethrin bug repellents.
Source: poststar.com
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