Loading...
Viruses of the tick-borne encephalitis group of flaviviruses cause encephalitis primarily in Central and Eastern Europe. Deer tick virus is a member of the tick-borne encephalitis group and can be identified in ticks in the northern U.S. Deer tick virus is closely related to Powassan viruses. There are two lineages of Powassan viruses, types I and II. Deer tick virus is a member of Powassan virus lineage II. Lineage I viruses cause encephalitis in humans, whereas lineage II viruses have not been associated with human disease. Now, researchers report on a patient with rapidly progressive fatal encephalitis caused by infection with deer tick virus.
The patient was a 62-year-old man with chronic lymphocytic leukemia–small lymphocytic lymphoma w…