BOSTON (WHDH) - A newborn from Martha’s Vineyard is fighting for her life after possibly contracting Powassan Virus, one of the rarest tick-born illnesses in the world.
Lily Sisco’s parents say their daughter came down with a fever in late July.
She was flown from the Vineyard to Mass. General Hospital in Boston but her condition continued to worsen. She suffered seizures and was diagnosed with a brain infection.
Doctors would later connect her mysterious illness to a small tick they found on her after a walk near their home. Vineyard health officials have confirmed a suspected case of Powassan on the island but couldn’t reveal the patient’s age.
On a fundraiser page for the family, the Siscos said the extent of Lily’s brain damage remains unclear.
She is sill receiving around-the-clock care are MGH.
Although incredibly rare, infectious disease expert Dr. Shira Doron says Powassan can also be incredibly dangerous, especially for babies. Only 24 cases have been confirmed in the U.S. this year, three of those in Massachusetts.
“Someplace like Martha’s Vineyard is the place I would expect to see Powassan,” she said. “It is so unfortunate that this happened to such a small baby.”
Doron says ticks can transmit the virus within minutes. Symptoms include fever and neurological issues.
But she also said some people don’t contract the disease, even after a bite from a tick carrying Powassan.
“There are a lot of infections that are totally asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms go unrecognized,” she said.
Learn more: https://www.chilmarkma.gov/home/news/rare-serious-tick-borne-virus-investigated-martha%E2%80%99s-vineyard
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