HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC Radio) - The Department of Public Health announced that a woman from New London County was Connecticut's first Powassan Virus-related fatality of this year.
The woman was in her 90s when she became ill in early May, public health officials said. She had a tick bite which was removed two weeks before the onset of the symptoms, they explained.
She was admitted to a local hospital with fever, altered mental status, headache, chills, rigors, chest paint and nausea, officials said.
When her condition worsened, officials said she became unresponsive over the course of two weeks. The woman died on May 17, officials said.
Tests performed at a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lab in Ft. Collins, CO, confirmed that the woman tested positive for Powassan Virus Infection (POWV), officials said, making her the second case of POWV in Connecticut for 2022.
This year's first POWV case in Connecticut was identified when a man in his 50s from Windham County was hospitalized with central nervous system disease and a known tick bite in late March.
The man was diagnosed with POWV, officials said, and was able to recover at home.
From 2017 to 2021, Connecticut had 12 cases of POWV illnesses, two of which were fatal.
"This incident reminds us that residents need to take actions to prevent tick bites now through the late fall," DPH Commissioner Dr. Manish Juthani said.
Download the Audacy App and listen to WTIC:
https://go.audacy.com/wtic/download