The virus was identified through sequencing of serum samples from patients in China with fever and recent tick bites.
Birds dispersed the ticks over average distances of 260 to 3,100 miles.
The virus was identified in 2% of 988 participants with tick bites.
Among all patients diagnosed with babesiosis, 41% were co-infected with the bacterium responsible for Lyme disease.
The disease is similar to Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
Seventeen patients with nonspecific symptoms such as fever and headache were ultimately diagnosed as having Wetland virus.
Most cases occurred in the summer among men and in residents of high-incidence states.
Powassan virus can have severe outcomes, with up to 50% of case-patients experiencing lasting neurologic symptoms.
The doctor who contracted the severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus had no history of recent tick bites and didn't have pets.
Vector-borne illnesses have doubled over the past two decades, as the number of pathogens grows and affected areas expand.
