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Review
. 2023 Nov 14;60(6):1142-1148.
doi: 10.1093/jme/tjad095.

The known unknowns of Powassan virus ecology

Doug E Brackney  1 , Chantal B F Vogels  2
Affiliations
Review

The known unknowns of Powassan virus ecology

Doug E Brackney et al. J Med Entomol. .

Abstract

Powassan virus (POWV; Family: Flaviviridae, Genus: Flavivirus) is the sole North American member of the tick-borne encephalitis sero-complex. While associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality, POWV has historically been of little public health concern due to low incidence rates. However, over the last 20 yr, incidence rates have increased highlighting the growing epidemiological threat. Currently, there are no vaccines or therapeutics with tick habitat reduction, acaricide application, and public awareness programs being our primary means of intervention. The effectiveness of these control strategies is dependent on having a sound understanding of the virus's ecology. In this Forum, we review what is currently known about POWV ecology, identify gaps in our knowledge, and discuss prevailing and alternative hypotheses about transmission dynamics, reservoir hosts, and spatial focality.

Keywords: Ixodes scapularis; Powassan virus; ecology; flavivirus.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Graphical representation of the knowns and unknowns on the ecology of deer tick virus (DTV; Powassan virus lineage II). Left panel: Illustrative example of the highly focal geographic distribution of DTV, with genomes tightly clustering by location as described in (Vogels et al. 2023). Middle panel: The identification of DTV transmission foci raises questions on the size, modes of long-distance dispersal, and frequency of dispersal that remain unanswered. Right panel: The relative role of different modes of transmission such as cofeeding transmission between immature tick stages, efficiency of vertical transmission, and role of reservoir hosts remain unknown. Figure created with BioRender.com.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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