MAINE WOMAN DIES FROM DEER TICK VIRUS

This case report describes an elderly woman from Maine, who was diagnosed post-mortem with a rare deer tick virus, known as the Powassan virus. The 72-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with myalgias, chills, and an erythema migrans rash on her left scapula. She reportedly had 2 tick bites over the course of one month.

She was prescribed 14 days of doxycycline and discharged home.

The following day, she returned to the hospital, acutely ill with fever, arthralgias, and headache. Intravenous ceftriaxone was added to her treatment regime. But her condition continued to deteriorate.

Within 24 hours of admission, she developed hemodynamic instability, visual hallucinations, and confusion.

“By hospital day 4 she was obtunded and hypotensive. On day 5 she was intubated,” writes Cavanaugh et al.

The patient’s antibiotics were changed to Vancomycin, piperacillin-tazobactam, doxycycline, and acyclovir followed by vancomycin and meropenem.

“She was thrombocytopenic (platelets 21 000) and had developed oliguric acute kidney injury,” according to Cavanaugh.

Unfortunately, the woman died 10 days after entering the hospital.

Find the full article written by Dr. Daniel Cameron here.