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.
At least 5 people have contracted the tick-borne disease after travel to Mexico, and 3 died.
Claims for the tick-borne illness were more common in rural than urban areas in June and July, but the opposite was true from November to April.
The latest Gates Foundation funds support mRNA vaccine production in Africa and other lower-income regions.
Powassan virus infections are still rare, but are increasing.
