If you feel like you have been hearing more about Powassan virus lately, you are not imagining it. The tick‑borne disease, which can cause sudden and often fatal brain inflammation, has been showing up in headlines far more often than it used to.

A recent long‑form piece in the Boston Globe goes deeper than the usual “new case reported” story. Reporter Erin Douglas traces Powassan back to its first known victim in 1958, a 4‑year‑old boy in rural Ontario, Canada.  Then she follows the virus’s path from medical mystery to one of the deadliest tick‑borne infections in the United States.

The article is behind a paywall, but I took advantage of the Globe’s introductory offer of $1 for three months and felt it was well worth it. You can access it here.

A medical puzzle…now rising fast

The story opens with the case of Lincoln Byers, a young boy who died suddenly from encephalitis (brain inflammation). At the time, doctors could only identify “a virus of unknown origins.” Years later, researchers discovered the same virus in a tick pulled off a squirrel, and the virus was named Powassan after the town where Lincoln’s family had lived.

For decades, Powassan remained an obscure disease. Only a couple dozen cases were reported worldwide over the next forty years.

The Globe article highlights how Powassan has shifted from a medical rarity to a growing public health threat, especially in New England and the Upper Midwest.

Key points from the article:

• 76 cases were diagnosed in 2025, the highest ever recorded
• 10 to 15 percent of symptomatic cases are fatal
• Survivors often face long‑term neurological damage
• The virus can be transmitted by a deer tick in under 15 minutes

Because Powassan is usually detected only in severe cases, the true number of infections is likely higher.

Families caught off guard

Families interviewed in the article repeatedly emphasized how desperately more awareness is needed. Several described:

• Doctors who had never heard of Powassan
• Misdiagnoses such as stroke or autoimmune encephalitis
• Long ICU stays
• Permanent neurological complications
• Sudden, devastating loss

One mother said that when her daughter’s test finally came back positive, their doctor admitted he had to Google “Powassan” before walking into the hospital room.

A bigger story about ticks

What makes this article stand out is how clearly it connects the rise of Powassan to the broader surge in tick‑borne diseases across the country. It offers a look back at where the virus came from, how it spread, and why it is appearing in places it never used to. For anyone living in tick country, understanding that history is not just interesting. It is essential.

As cases of Powassan and other tick‑borne infections increase, awareness becomes one of the most important tools we have.

TOUCHED BY LYME is written by Dorothy Kupcha Leland, President of LymeDisease.org. She is co-author of Finding Resilience: A Teen’s Journey Through Lyme Disease and of When Your Child Has Lyme Disease: A Parent’s Survival Guide. Contact her at dleland@lymedisease.org.