Prevalence and Genetic Characterization of Deer Tick Virus (Powassan Virus, Lineage II) in Ixodes scapularis Ticks Collected in Maine.

ABSTRACT: Deer tick virus (DTV) is a genetic variant of Powassan virus (POWV) that circulates in North America in an enzootic cycle involving the blacklegged or "deer tick," Ixodes scapularis, and small rodents such as the white-footed mouse. The number of reported human cases with neuroinvasive disease has increased substantially over the past few years, indicating that POWV may be of increasing public health importance. To this end, we sought to estimate POWV infection rates in questing I. scapularis collected from four health districts in Maine (York, Cumberland, Midcoast, and Central Maine). Infection rates were 1.6%, 1.7%, 0.7%, and 0%, respectively, for adults collected from April to November in 2016. Adults collected in October and November in 2017 from York and Cumberland count

SUBMITTER: Robich RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6685567 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature