Encephalitis Virus Found In Local Ticks; See Previous Video Reports

EXCLUSIVE: Encephalitis Virus Found In Local Ticks; See Previous Video Reports

First there was Lyme disease. Then came two malaria-like infectious diseases, babesiosis and anaplasmosis. Now a new study indicates that an unexpectedly high percentage of black-legged ticks in the mid-Hudson Valley also carry a virus that can cause swelling of the brain and, in some cases, death. The study, published today in the journal Parasites and Vectors, found a variant of the virus responsible for Powassan encephalitis was present in ticks collected over a five-year period in Dutchess, Ulster, Putnam, Westchester, Orange, Rockland and Sullivan counties. Read more.