Causes of Powassan virus disease
Learn about the causes of Powassan virus disease and how it is spread.
On this page
Causes of Powassan virus disease
Powassan virus disease is a very rare, but often serious, disease that is transmitted to humans by infected ticks.
How Powassan virus disease is spread
There are three types of ticks that are known to transmit Powassan virus in Canada:
- squirrel tick
- groundhog tick
- blacklegged tick
Powassan virus disease cannot spread from person-to-person. The incubation period (time from tick bite to onset of illness) ranges from 1 week to 1 month.
Page details
- Date modified: