{"id":34895,"date":"2017-07-15T06:03:42","date_gmt":"2017-07-15T06:03:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=34895"},"modified":"2017-07-15T06:03:42","modified_gmt":"2017-07-15T06:03:42","slug":"family-warns-of-powassan-virus-month-after-new-york-mans-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/health\/medical\/family-warns-of-powassan-virus-month-after-new-york-mans-death.html","title":{"rendered":"Family warns of Powassan virus month after New York man’s death"},"content":{"rendered":"

Family warns of Powassan virus month after New York man’s death<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Family warns of Powassan virus month after New York man’s death:- The family of a New York man is speaking out a month after his death to warn about Powassan virus, a potentially deadly tick-borne illness that has had health officials in Maine on the lookout. Charles Smith, of Gansevoort, New York, had found the tick under the skin of his elbow on April 28, WNYT reported.<\/span><\/p>\n

The avid fisherman, who had survived a heart attack that robbed him of his sight in one eye and the amputation of both his right leg and part of his left foot, wasn\u2019t concerned about the tick.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe said it\u2019s nothing to worry about, no bulls eye it\u2019s an atypical tick bite because it didn\u2019t measure 5 centimeters,\u201d Stephanie Smith, his daughter, told WNYT.<\/span><\/p>\n

But 10 days later, Smith started suffering from a fever and the chills. Test results at Glens Falls Hospitals came back negative for Lyme, and he was diagnosed with an enlarged kidney. During an operation to insert a stent, Smith became paralyzed from the neck down, WNYT reported.<\/span><\/p>\n

Subsequent testing revealed Powassan virus, but it took more than a month after Smith\u2019s death for the New York State Department of Health to confirm the case.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Maine, health officials confirmed two new cases of the virus this year, bringing the state\u2019s total count since 2000 to nine. The virus differs from Lyme in that it can be transferred from tick to human in a matter of minutes, with symptoms also striking more severely. The virus can quickly reach a patient\u2019s brain, leaving them susceptible to long-term neurological damage.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe was pretty much gone, the bus was being drive but we didn\u2019t know where the bus driver was,\u201d Stephanie told WNYT.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 10-15 percent of cases, the virus proves fatal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you catch Lyme early, antibiotics can eradicate it,\u201d Dr. Kent Holtorf, a Lyme disease expert and medical director of Holtorf Medical Group, previously told Fox News. \u201cIf you catch Lyme early, antibiotics can eradicate it, but with a virus, you have much less options to do anything about it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Patients who are most likely to be symptomatic are those who are immunosuppressed or who have previously contracted a tick-borne illness like West Nile, Dengue or Lyme.<\/span><\/p>\n

source: http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/health\/2017\/07\/14\/family-warns-powassan-virus-month-after-new-york-mans-death.html<\/span><\/p>\n

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