Rare Powassan Virus Can Lead to Serious Brain or Spinal Cord Inflammation, and Cases are Rising in the U.S.
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Learn how Powassan virus spreads through infected ticks, why cases in Maine and Rhode Island are raising concern, and what symptoms can make the infection dangerous.
Anastasia Scott is an Assistant Editor at Discover Magazine. Her work focuses on bringing clarity and creativity to scientific ideas. Health officials in Rhode Island and Maine have confirmed new 2026 Powassan cases, adding to concerns about a tick-borne virus that reached its highest annual U.S.
The Rhode Island Department of Health reported that the patient, a man in his 60s from Providence County, began experiencing symptoms in May 2026, was hospitalized, and is now recovering at home. Days earlier, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a case in a Penobscot County resident, the state’s first confirmed Powassan detection of 2026. The new reports come after 76 Powassan cases were recorded nationwide in 2025, the highest annual total reported in the U.S., according to the Rhode Island Department of Health.
Powassan is still far less common than illnesses like Lyme disease, but severe infections can lead to inflammation of the brain or spinal cord. Reported Powassan cases have increased in recent years, with most U.S. cases occurring in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions from late spring through mid-fall.
Powassan is nationally notifiable, meaning state and territorial health departments report cases to the CDC using standard case definitions. The CDC tracks the disease through ArboNET, a national arboviral surveillance system, which has recorded 15 Powassan cases across five states so far in 2026. All 15 were classified as neuroinvasive disease, meaning they involved the nervous system.
Current-season totals are preliminary and may change as reporting continues. Over the past 10 years, more than 397 Powassan cases were reported in the U.S., the Rhode Island Department of Health reported. In 2025, New England reported 27 cases, including 12 in Massachusetts, five in Connecticut, six in Maine, and four in New Hampshire.
Powassan virus spreads to people through the bite of an infected tick. The groundhog tick, the squirrel tick, and the blacklegged tick, also known as the deer tick, can carry the virus, the CDC reports.
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