Kevin Boyce was hospitalized in April 2024 with a severe case of Powassan virus due to a tick bite
He died weeks later after suffering brain damage from the disease
His family is now sharing his story to encourage others to be cautious about ticks
As the weather gets warmer, one Massachusetts family is sharing their heartbreaking story as a warning to others about a debilitating tick-borne disease.
In April 2024, Kevin Boyce was unknowingly bitten by a tick. He started experiencing headaches, vomiting and other flu-like symptoms that rapidly progressed. Days later, the 62-year-old collapsed in his home and was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston where he was admitted to the intensive care unit. Doctors diagnosed Kevin with Powassan virus, a rare and dangerous tick-borne disease.
Powassan virus is rare but the number of cases has significantly increased in the past decade. Symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, weakness, confusion, loss of coordination, difficulty speaking, and seizures. Severe cases can lead to inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) or spinal cord (myelitis). About 10% of these advanced cases are fatal, according to Yale Medicine.
Erin explained that despite Kevin being treated in the ICU, he ultimately suffered severe brain damage from the disease.
“His brain had blown up so much, from the encephalitis, and he had really bad brain damage,” she told CBS News. “It was horrifying, but we knew what Kevin would want, so you know, we just had to let him go.”
Kevin died a few weeks after arriving at the hospital, leaving behind a wife, two sons and a granddaughter. Erin said that she and her family are now hoping that sharing Kevin’s story will encourage others to be cautious.
“We just want the public to know what to look for and be wary of ticks, especially if you have one on your body,” she said.
In 2024, 54 cases of Powassan virus disease were reported in the United States, with 12 cases reported in Massachusetts.According to the CDC, there are no vaccines to prevent POWV or medicines to treat it. However, a number of precautionary measures can be taken to avoid ticks.
To prevent exposure to ticks, according to the National Institutes of Health, wear clothing that covers your arms and legs and tuck your pants into your socks or put tape around openings in clothing. Wear light-colored clothing so you can see if a tick is on you. When you are in the woods, keep to the center of the trail, since ticks tend to like shrubs and bushes. Use a chemical repellent with DEET, permethrin or picaridin.
After coming indoors, check yourself, children and pets for ticks. If you do find one, use tweezers to remove it as soon as possible.
It takes a week to one month after the bite from an infected tick to develop symptoms of POWV disease, and the virus can be transmitted in as little as 15 minutes after the tick first attaches, according to the Massachusetts Department of Health. Shower as soon as you can and wash your clothes in high heat to kill any remaining ticks.
