Tick-Borne Flaviviruses, with a Focus on Powassan Virus.

ABSTRACT: The tick-borne pathogen Powassan virus is a rare cause of encephalitis in North America and the Russian Far East. The number of documented cases described since the discovery of Powassan virus in 1958 may be <150, although detection of cases has increased over the past decade. In the United States, the incidence of Powassan virus infections expanded from the estimated 1 case per year prior to 2005 to 10 cases per year during the subsequent decade. The increased detection rate may be associated with several factors, including enhanced surveillance, the availability of improved laboratory diagnostic methods, the expansion of the vector population, and, perhaps, altered human activities that lead to more exposure. Nonetheless, it remains unclear whether Powassan virus is indeed an emerging th

SUBMITTER: Kemenesi G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6302355 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature