Rare tick-borne virus turns deadly fast as US cases reach record high, experts warn

A rare and potentially fatal tick-borne illness currently spreading across the United States can be traced back to a 1958 case involving a young boy on a farm.

The disease, known as Powassan virus, was named for the Ontario town near where it was first discovered.

At the time of his death, Lincoln Byers, a 4-year-old living in Canada, had a condition that medical professionals could not explain, the Boston Globe reported.

DEADLY ‘FOX TAPEWORM’ LINKED TO LETHAL DISEASE DETECTED IN WEST COAST WILDLIFE

Years later...