A simple tick bite can cause a serious brain infection with severe neurological symptoms that can lead to death. This is what happened to a resident of the US state of Maine on the border with Canada.
The case has been confirmed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a disease transmitted by the Powassan virus through the bite of a species of tick that normally infects deer in the far north of the country.
The virus is rare, infecting just over 25 people annually in the United States, but what’s catching the attention of health officials in the country is that the number of cases increases each year during the spring and fall months.
This infection has only been recorded in the wildest regions of North America and Russia.
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Symptoms of the disease begin within a week of the tick bite and include fever, headache, weakness, vomiting, confusion, memory loss, loss of coordination, and seizures. But the virus can also take hold in the brain and cause serious neurological problems, such as: B. encephalitis, which can lead to death. What intrigues scientists, however, is that many people infected with the virus don’t even get sick.
Since there are no vaccines against the virus, the only measure is prevention against the tick bite, avoiding tall grass and paths during tick season (spring and autumn), using repellents and clothing to protect the body when walking. .
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