Powassan Virus Encephalitis

Overview

Journal Infect Dis Clin North Am

Specialty Infectious Diseases

Date 2022 Sep 18

PMID 36116842

Authors

Anne Piantadosi

Isaac H Solomon

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Powassan virus is an increasingly recognized cause of severe encephalitis that is transmitted by Ixodes ticks. Given the nonspecific clinical, laboratory, and imaging features of Powassan virus disease, providers should consider it in patients with compatible exposures and request appropriate testing.

Citing Articles

Genomic and Proteomic Analyses of Bacterial Communities of Ticks from Broome County, New York.

Shamoon-Pour M, Canessa E, Macher J, Fruitwala A, Draper E, Policriti B Microorganisms. 2025; 13(2).

PMID: 40005625 PMC: 11857480. DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms13020258.

Flaviviruses-Induced Neurological Sequelae.

Cody S, Adam A, Siniavin A, Kang S, Wang T Pathogens. 2025; 14(1).

PMID: 39860983 PMC: 11768111. DOI: 10.3390/pathogens14010022.

Histological staining of tick bite skin biopsies for spirochetes and Powassan virus RNA.

Oufattole J, Piantadosi A, Telford 3rd S, Laga A, Solomon I Microbiol Spectr. 2025; 13(2):e0090224.

PMID: 39792004 PMC: 11792453. DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00902-24.

Analysis of Powassan Virus Genome Sequences from Human Cases Reveals Substantial Genetic Diversity with Implications for Molecular Assay Development.

Klontz E, Chowdhury N, Holbrook N, Solomon I, Telford 3rd S, Aliota M Viruses. 2024; 16(11).

PMID: 39599768 PMC: 11599074. DOI: 10.3390/v16111653.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis combine with EBV infection in severe adult meningoencephalitis: a rare case reports and literature review.

Wang J, Li M, Zhu J, Cheng L, Kong P Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2024; 14:1361119.

PMID: 39469454 PMC: 11513340. DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1361119.

References

Hermance M, Thangamani S . Utilization of RNA Hybridization to Understand the Cellular Localization of Powassan Virus RNA at the Tick-Virus-Host Interface. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2020; 10:172. PMC: 7198705. DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.00172. View

Thomm A, Schotthoefer A, Dupuis 2nd A, Kramer L, Frost H, Fritsche T . Development and Validation of a Serologic Test Panel for Detection of Powassan Virus Infection in U.S. Patients Residing in Regions Where Lyme Disease Is Endemic. mSphere. 2018; 3(1). PMC: 5760746. DOI: 10.1128/mSphere.00467-17. View

Picheca C, Yogendrakumar V, Brooks J, Torres C, Pringle E, Zwicker J . Polio-Like Manifestation of Powassan Virus Infection with Anterior Horn Cell Involvement, Canada. Emerg Infect Dis. 2019; 25(8):1609-1611. PMC: 6649312. DOI: 10.3201/eid2508.190399. View

Allen S, Jardine C, Hooper-McGrevy K, Ambagala A, Bosco-Lauth A, Kunkel M . Serologic Evidence of Arthropod-Borne Virus Infections in Wild and Captive Ruminants in Ontario, Canada. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2020; 103(5):2100-2107. PMC: 7646771. DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-0539. View

Hoang Johnson D, Staples J, Sotir M, Warshauer D, Davis J . Tickborne Powassan virus infections among Wisconsin residents. WMJ. 2010; 109(2):91-7. View

Ebel G, Campbell E, Goethert H, Spielman A, Telford 3rd S . Enzootic transmission of deer tick virus in New England and Wisconsin sites. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2001; 63(1-2):36-42. DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.2000.63.36. View

Nofchissey R, Deardorff E, Blevins T, Anishchenko M, Bosco-Lauth A, Berl E . Seroprevalence of Powassan virus in New England deer, 1979-2010. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2013; 88(6):1159-62. PMC: 3752817. DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.12-0586. View

Vahey G, Wilson N, McDonald E, Fitzpatrick K, Lehman J, Clark S . Seroprevalence of Powassan Virus Infection in an Area Experiencing a Cluster of Disease Cases: Sussex County, New Jersey, 2019. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2022; 9(3):ofac023. PMC: 8833865. DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofac023. View

Frost H, Schotthoefer A, Thomm A, Dupuis 2nd A, Kehl S, Kramer L . Serologic Evidence of Powassan Virus Infection in Patients with Suspected Lyme Disease. Emerg Infect Dis. 2017; 23(8):1384-1388. PMC: 5547799. DOI: 10.3201/eid2308.161971. View

10.

El Khoury M, Camargo J, White J, Backenson B, Dupuis 2nd A, Escuyer K . Potential role of deer tick virus in Powassan encephalitis cases in Lyme disease-endemic areas of New York, U.S.A. Emerg Infect Dis. 2013; 19(12):1926-33. PMC: 3840892. DOI: 10.3201/eid1912.130903. View

11.

Eyer L, Svoboda P, Balvan J, Vicar T, Raudenska M, Stefanik M . Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Activity of 3'-Deoxy-3'-Fluoroadenosine against Emerging Flaviviruses. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2020; 65(2). PMC: 7848998. DOI: 10.1128/AAC.01522-20. View

12.

Knox K, Thomm A, Harrington Y, Ketter E, Patitucci J, Carrigan D . Powassan/Deer Tick Virus and Borrelia Burgdorferi Infection in Wisconsin Tick Populations. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2017; 17(7):463-466. PMC: 5512294. DOI: 10.1089/vbz.2016.2082. View

13.

Rigaud E, Jaulhac B, Garcia-Bonnet N, Hunfeld K, Femenia F, Huet D . Seroprevalence of seven pathogens transmitted by the Ixodes ricinus tick in forestry workers in France. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2016; 22(8):735.e1-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmi.2016.05.014. View

14.

Santos R, Hermance M, Reynolds E, Thangamani S . Salivary gland extract from the deer tick, Ixodes scapularis, facilitates neuroinvasion by Powassan virus in BALB/c mice. Sci Rep. 2021; 11(1):20873. PMC: 8536725. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00021-2. View

15.

Taylor R, Lubick K, Robertson S, Broughton J, Bloom M, Bresnahan W . TRIM79α, an interferon-stimulated gene product, restricts tick-borne encephalitis virus replication by degrading the viral RNA polymerase. Cell Host Microbe. 2011; 10(3):185-96. PMC: 3182769. DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2011.08.004. View

16.

Hermance M, Santos R, Kelly B, Valbuena G, Thangamani S . Immune Cell Targets of Infection at the Tick-Skin Interface during Powassan Virus Transmission. PLoS One. 2016; 11(5):e0155889. PMC: 4874601. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155889. View

17.

Solomon I, Spera K, Ryan S, Helgager J, Andrici J, Zaki S . Fatal Powassan Encephalitis (Deer Tick Virus, Lineage II) in a Patient With Fever and Orchitis Receiving Rituximab. JAMA Neurol. 2018; 75(6):746-750. PMC: 5885183. DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2018.0132. View

18.

Lindqvist R, Mundt F, Gilthorpe J, Wolfel S, Gekara N, Kroger A . Fast type I interferon response protects astrocytes from flavivirus infection and virus-induced cytopathic effects. J Neuroinflammation. 2016; 13(1):277. PMC: 5078952. DOI: 10.1186/s12974-016-0748-7. View

19.

Flint M, McMullan L, Dodd K, Bird B, Khristova M, Nichol S . Inhibitors of the tick-borne, hemorrhagic fever-associated flaviviruses. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2014; 58(6):3206-16. PMC: 4068503. DOI: 10.1128/AAC.02393-14. View

20.

Lessell S, Collins T . Ophthalmoplegia in Powassan encephalitis. Neurology. 2003; 60(10):1726-7. DOI: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000064167.16083.02. View