This is a case presented in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ); that of a 9-year-old child admitted to hospital with symptoms of fever, stiff neck and headache, which appeared one week after camping in northern Ontario.
Doctors ran extensive tests for various diseases, including Epstein-Barr virus, Lyme disease and bacterial meningitis. All came back negative.
They also sent serology samples to the Public Health Ontario lab for testing. The results came back a few weeks later, after the child had been treated and released from hospital. The diagnosis: the child had Powassan virus.
Most often benign cases
Powassan disease is a very rare, but sometimes serious, condition that is transmitted to humans by infected ticks. The virus can be transmitted within 15 minutes of a bite, and symptoms can develop 1 to 5 weeks later.
Most people affected – as was the case with the 9-year-old – have flu-like symptoms. But in some individuals, the disease can cause encephalitis (i.e. inflammation of the brain) or meningitis.
Most often, the cases are mild. But, ” Among people with severe disease with severe symptoms, one in 10 die ” explains the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases in Canada.
” Nearly half of people who survive (a severe form of) the disease suffer long-term neurological problems such as recurring headaches, loss of muscle mass and memory problems.. »
What treatments?
There is no vaccine or specific medication for Powassan disease. People who develop no symptoms or mild symptoms do not require any treatment.
However, those with severe symptoms must be hospitalized to receive intravenous fluids (hydration solutions), respiratory support and medications to reduce cerebral edema.
Source : National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases – Canadian Medical Association Journal
