Connecticut Department Of Public Health officials say a New London County woman died from a tick bite after testing positive for Powassan virus infection.

Officials say the woman who was between 90 and 99 years old died on May 17 two weeks after she was hospitalized with fever, altered mental status, headache, chills, rigors, chest pain and nausea. The patient’s condition worsened, and she became unresponsive over the next two weeks.

Officials say this is the second case of POWV associated illness identified in Connecticut in 2022.

From 2017 to 2021, 12 cases of POWV associated illness were reported in Connecticut, including three in 2021.

Of those 12 cases between 2017 and 2021, two were fatal.

Laboratory tests performed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Laboratory in Ft. Collins, Colorado, confirmed the presence of antibodies to POWV.