RIDOH: Rare Tick-Borne Disease Shows Up In Providence County

PROVIDENCE, RI — A confirmed case of the tick-borne Powassan virus disease has been detected in a Rhode Island resident.

A Providence County man over the age of 70, who was previously healthy, developed neurological symptoms and is now recovering. Laboratory testing conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the diagnosis, the Rhode Island Department of Health announced Tuesday.

Powassan is found mostly in the Northeast and the Great Lakes regions and in eastern Canada. Over 166 cases have been reported in the United States in the past 10 years. Powassan cases are rare, but case numbers are increasing. Between 2010 and 2019, there were 56 cases reported in New England – 31 in Massachusetts, eight in Connecticut, eight in Maine, five in New Hampshire, and four in Rhode Island.

Initial symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, and generalized weakness. The disease usually progresses to meningoencephalitis, which may include meningeal signs, altered mental status, seizures, aphasia (difficulty understanding or speaking), paresis (muscular weakness or paralysis), movement disorders, or cranial nerve palsies, state health officials said.

People with severe Powassan disease often need to be hospitalized. There is no vaccine or treatment for Powassan, so preventing exposure to ticks is the best strategy to avoid this disease.

RIDOH and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management are reminding people to take steps to prevent tick-borne diseases, including Powassan and Lyme Disease, when spending time outdoors. The Tick Free Rhode Island campaign highlights three keys: repel, check, and remove.

The two agencies recommend the following:

Repel – Keep ticks off yourself, your children, and pets:

• Avoid wooded and brushy areas with high grass and leaves. If you are going to be in a wooded area, walk in the center of the trail. You can spray your clothes with permethrin to keep ticks away. Make sure to not spray this on your skin. Wear long pants and long-sleeve shirts when outside and tuck your pants into your socks so ticks do not crawl under your clothes. Wear light-colored clothing so you can see ticks more easily.

Check – Check yourself, your children, and pets, for ticks:

• Take a shower as soon as you get home if you have been in grassy or wooded areas. Do a full-body tick check using a mirror. Parents should check their kids for ticks and pay special attention to the area in and around the ears, in the belly button, behind the knees, between the legs, around the waist, and in their hair. Check your pets for ticks because they can bring them into the home.

Remove – Remove ticks from your body, as well as from children and pets:

• Use a set of tweezers to remove the tick. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull straight up. If you don't have tweezers, use your fingers with a tissue or rubber gloves.

For more information on Powassan, Lyme disease, and other tick-borne diseases, visit health.ri.gov/ticks.