Thursday, June 30, 2011

Sign of the times: Tick bites can kill you

Deer tick
A husband and wife attending an outdoor event in Minnesota earlier this month contracted a viral infection from Deer Tick bites. The husband is now gravely ill and his wife has died.

"The Powassan virus was first identified in 1958 in Powassan, Ontario. Since that time about 60 cases have been identified in North America. The virus was mostly seen in eastern Canada and the northeastern U.S. until the last decade when, cases were reported in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. (Nathan Hansen, Winona Daily News)