Powassan is a virus that can be spread to humans through the bite of an infected tick.

While rare, the rate of the Powassan virus is increasing and can cause severe disease, including inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.

While Minnesota’s high-risk map highlights tick-borne illnesses like Lyme, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis, there’s another, more dangerous threat that’s been creeping in quietly: The Powassan virus. According to the CDC, the Powassan virus is spread through the bite of an infected tick, usually the blacklegged tick, the same one responsible for spreading Lyme disease. Unlike Lyme, which takes at least 24 hours to transmit from tick to human, Powassan can transmit in as little as 15 minutes after an infected tick attaches to a person, and there’s currently no vaccine or cure.

A Maine resident has been hospitalized with the year's first human case of the rare tick-borne Powassan virus. 

The patient was one of three Powassan virus cases reported in Wisconsin so far this year, all of which required hospitalization.

The UMass Amherst scientists, led by Stephen Rich, also estimate for the first time the number of people in the U.S. bitten by deer ticks each year.

MINNEAPOLIS — There is no vaccine or treatment for the Powassan virus, but researchers at the University of Minnesota said they have identified a weak point within the tick-borne flavivirus that could offer a route for future therapies. Their findings...