Getty
Medical Twezers by removing a tick
Need to know
Kevin Boyce was hospitalized in April 2024 with a serious case of Powassan virus due to a tick bite
He died weeks later after having undergone brain damage to the disease
His family now shares their history to encourage others to be careful about ticks
While time warms up, a family from Massachusetts shares its heartbreaking history as a warning to others of a debilitating disease transmitted by ticks.
In April 2024, Kevin Boyce was unconsciously bitten by a tick. He began to experience headaches, vomiting and other pseudo-Grippal symptoms that quickly progressed. A few days later, the 62 -year -old man collapsed at his home and was transported urgently to the General Hospital of Massachusetts in Boston where he was admitted to the intensive care unit. Doctors diagnosed Kevin with the Powassan virus, a rare and dangerous disease transmitted by ticks.
The Powassan virus is rare, but the number of cases has increased considerably in the past decade. Symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, weakness, confusion, loss of coordination, the difficulty of speaking and convulsions. Serious cases can cause brain inflammation (encephalitis) or spinal cord (myelitis). About 10% of these advanced cases are fatal, according to Yale Medicine.
Erin explained that despite Kevin’s treatment in USI, he finally underwent serious brain damage to the disease.
“His brain had exploded so much, encephalitis, and he had very bad brain damage,” she said CBS News. “It was horrible, but we knew what Kevin would like, so you know, we just had to let him go.”
Getty
A tick in the palm of one hand
Never miss a story – register for Free daily newsletter of people To stay up to date on the best of what people have to offer, news of celebrities to convincing human interest stories.
Kevin died a few weeks after arriving at the hospital, leaving behind a woman, two sons and a granddaughter. Erin said that she and her family now hoped that sharing the story of Kevin will encourage others to be careful.
“We just want the public to know what to look for and be wary of ticks, especially if you have one on your body,” she said.
In 2024, 54 cases of Powassan virus disease were reported in the United States, with 12 cases reported in the Massachusetts. However, a number of precautionary measures can be taken to avoid ticks.
To avoid exposure to ticks, according to the National Health InstitutesWear clothes covering your arms and legs and enter your pants in your socks or put adhesive tape around the openings in the clothes. Wear light color clothes so you can see if a tick is on you. When you are in the woods, keep the center of the path, because ticks tend to love shrubs and bushes. Use a chemical repellent with deet, permethrin or picaridine.
After coming inside, check, children and pets for ticks. If you find one, use tweezers to remove it as soon as possible.
It takes a week to a month after the bite of an infected tick to develop symptoms of POWV disease, and the virus can be transmitted as little as 15 minutes after the first time that the tick has attached, according to the Massachusetts Health Department. Shower as soon as you can and wash your clothes over high heat to kill the remaining ticks.
Read the original article on People
