Pale Horse in Play, Pestilence on the Move: Connecticut Reports Its First Case of the Tick-Borne Powassan Virus in 2022

HNewsWire: On Wednesday, the Connecticut Department of Public Health reported the first case of the year of the Powassan virus infection in Connecticut. According to a recent press release, the same tick that transmits Lyme disease also transmits the Powassan virus, an uncommon illness.

According to Connecticut Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani, the discovery of a Powassan virus-associated disease in a state resident underscores the need of taking precautions against tick bites from now until late autumn.

An infected black-legged or deer tick is the most common mode of transmission for the Powassan virus, which was initially found in Powassan, Ontario in 1958 and may be transferred within 15 minutes of the bite, although symptoms may not appear for a week or more, per the release.

Tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says may be transmitted 36-48 hours after being bitten by a black-legged tick, are uncommon in the United States because they are caused by a bacterium known as Borrelia burgdorferi (CDC).

Since 2011, the CDC has received reports from the following states: Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

There were just 20 Powassan cases reported to the CDC in 2020, but that number is expected to rise, whereas the CDC receives 30,00 reports of Lyme disease each year, but the real number is likely closer to 476,000, says the agency, due to under reporting.

A male patient in his 50s from Connecticut was diagnosed with Powassan virus during the fourth week of March after contracting the infection from a tick bite. The CDC has verified that he has antibodies to the virus, and he has since been released and is healing at home, according to the health department's report.

However, a small percentage of those infected with the Powassan virus may endure a serious sickness that affects the central nervous system, which comprises of the spinal cord and brain, according to health officials.

About one in ten instances of severe sickness are fatal, with an estimated half of survivors suffering long-term consequences.

Between 2017 and 2021, Connecticut had 12 occurrences of Powassan virus, including three in 2021, and two of those cases were deadly, according to the press release.

New England is renowned as one of the most tick-infested states in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to the National Institutes of Health, Dr. William Burgdorfer initially linked rheumatoid arthritis-like symptoms to the bite of deer ticks in Lyme, Connecticut, in 1975. (NIH).

SRH:

Plagues, Pestilences and Epidemics “Flu-Like Symptoms”…

God does indeed send plagues to challenge their rebellion. He sends them on the just as well as the unjust, just like the rain. He sends them to the earth. But mankind on earth is not interested in submitting to the leadership of their Creator. They do not repent. Nor will the plagues, the bowls, the vials, the trumpets… until the final trumpet blows.

As Beijing and the world keep an eye out for any new emerging diseases out of China, the country’s agriculture ministry on Wednesday said it had confirmed an outbreak of H5N8 avian influenza in a flock of wild birds at a wetlands park in the city of Nagqu in Tibet.

The highly infectious disease has been detected among wild birds in two areas of Nagqu, including a national wetland park. So far, 268 wild birds have been infected and killed, according to the ministry. Local authorities have activated an emergency response, sterilized the area and disposed of all dead birds safely, in accordance with protocols, per Reuters.

H5N8 isn’t nearly as harmful to humans as the H1N9, but it is highly lethal to wild birds and poultry posing a serious threat to China’s farmers and meat supplies.

As we reported earlier this year, Russian authorities reported the first human infections of H5N8 back in February, just in time for President Joe Biden to confront his old nemesis.

News of the latest bird flu threat is arriving just in time. As an Ebola outbreak in West Africa has finally subsided, financial authorities around the world are looking for their next excuse to unleash another flood of stimulus money.