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Powassan virus (POWV), a flavivirus carried by several tick species including the common Ixodes scapularis, can be transmitted to a human host in as little as 15 minutes after attachment. Disease manifestations can range from minimal febrile illness to a severe neurologic syndrome with long-term sequellae to death in 10% of cases. Between 2006 and 2015, a median of 7 cases (range, 1–12) were reported in the U.S. annually, predominantly in the Northeast and Great Lakes region.
In early November 2016, a previously healthy 5-month-old male infant from eastern Connecticut was hospitalized after he developed fever and vomiting progressing to right-sided facial twitching and seizures, accompanied by rightward eye deviation and right arm stiffening…