RI woman dies after contracting tick-borne Powassan virus disease

An elderly woman from Rhode Island died last month after contracting a rare tick-borne viral disease, health officials said Tuesday.

The woman who contracted Powassan virus disease was from Washington County, according to The Rhode Island Department of Health. She was experiencing neurological symptoms before she died in mid-July.

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They didn't provide more identifying details about the woman.

Powassan is rare, with five cases reported in Rhode Island, among 239 cases reported nationwide, from 2013 to 2022; most cases of the disease reported in the Northeast and around the Great Lakes.

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There's no treatment or vaccine for Powassan, health officials said. It causes fever, headache, vomiting and weakness, which can progress into neurological symptoms like seizures when it causes swelling in the brain and other parts of the head — severe cases may require hospitalization.

Of people with severe Powassan, roughly one in 10 die, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.