A tick bite that John Reagan likely never felt has left the 66-year-old New Hampshire outdoorsman fighting for his life in a Boston hospital, and his friends and doctors are now pleading with Granite Staters to take the threat of tick-borne illness seriously this summer. Reagan contracted Powassan virus, a rare but increasingly detected disease that can move from a tick bite to severe neurological damage with frightening speed. As CBS Boston reported, Reagan has been hospitalized for more than a month, and his case has become a stark warning for a state where outdoor recreation is a way of life.
Reagan, described by those who know him as an avid outdoorsman, is believed to have been bitten while walking his dog near the Pembroke and Concord town line. His longtime friend Tom Wright watched the illness unfold with terrifying speed. “When he first went into the emergency room, he was sitting up and talking to me, and I was there with his wife,” Wright recounted. “And the next day, we went to see him, and he was like nonverbal, and his muscles wouldn’t move right.” That rapid deterioration, from conversation to a nonverbal state in roughly a day, is one of the hallmarks of severe Powassan infection.
A Diagnosis Few Had Heard Of
When Reagan first arrived at the hospital, the cause of his collapse was not obvious. It took additional testing before physicians identified the culprit. “They did more tests on him, and they finally end up coming back with the Powassan virus,” Wright said. “Most of the people I’ve talked to have never even heard the word before.”
That unfamiliarity is part of what makes Powassan so dangerous. Unlike Lyme disease, which has become a household name across New England, Powassan remains obscure even though it can be far more severe. Reagan was initially admitted to Concord Hospital for roughly two weeks before being transferred to a Boston hospital for the more intensive, round-the-clock supportive care his condition demanded.
What Is Powassan Virus?
Powassan virus is a rare tick-borne disease that is being detected with growing frequency in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seven cases have been reported nationally so far in 2026, with most concentrated in the Northeast. Historically, cases have clustered in the Great Lakes region and the Northeast, the same broad territory where Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses thrive.
What sets Powassan apart from more familiar tick illnesses is the speed of transmission. Dr. Rakhi Kohli, an infectious disease physician at Tufts Medical Center, explained the critical difference. “Unlike Lyme disease, where the tick has to be attached for generally, we say at least 36 hours, here you only need a tick to be attached to you for 15 minutes and you can become infected,” Kohli said. That narrow window upends the conventional wisdom many outdoor enthusiasts rely on. The common advice that a daily tick check will catch a tick before it can transmit disease holds far less protection against Powassan, which can pass to a person in the time it takes to finish a short walk.
Kohli emphasized that not everyone who is infected becomes severely ill. “Not everyone who gets Powassan is going to get this deadly neurologic illness or encephalitis,” she said. “Persons with Powassan infection, many of them may have a self-limited febrile illness, but the ones that we tend to diagnose and see in the hospital are those with more severe disease.” In other words, some people may experience only a mild, fever-like illness and recover on their own, while the cases that reach a hospital tend to be the most dangerous, involving inflammation of the brain and lasting neurological harm.
Perhaps the most sobering fact is how little medicine can do once a serious infection takes hold. “There is no vaccine, unfortunately. There is no treatment, so the main focus is supportive care,” Kohli said. With no antiviral cure and no preventive shot, prevention through avoiding tick bites is the only real defense, and treatment for severe cases consists of keeping the patient stable while the body fights the virus.
Why This Matters for New Hampshire
New Hampshire is precisely the kind of place where Powassan poses an elevated risk. The state’s forested trails, residential properties that border woodlands, and deep outdoor recreation culture put a large share of residents in regular contact with tick habitat. The same conditions that have fueled a surge in Lyme disease across the region, including milder winters and expanding deer populations, also create favorable conditions for the ticks that carry Powassan.
Public health attention to tick-borne illness in the state has been rising. Federal officials recently brought a national Lyme disease initiative to Concord, as detailed in our coverage of the federal tick-control plan unveiled in New Hampshire. Researchers are also studying how tick loads affect the state’s wildlife, including a study examining whether winter ticks are devastating New Hampshire’s moose population. Reagan’s case adds a deeply human dimension to that growing body of concern, showing how a single bite can upend a family’s life. It also fits a broader pattern of Granite Staters confronting unfamiliar infectious threats, a theme we explored when New Hampshire travelers faced questions about the Andes hantavirus.
How to Protect Yourself
Because there is no vaccine and no cure, prevention is the entire strategy. Health experts recommend using EPA-registered insect repellents containing DEET or picaridin, treating clothing and gear with permethrin, and wearing long sleeves and long pants tucked into socks when walking through woods, tall grass, or brushy areas. Light-colored clothing makes ticks easier to spot. After spending time outdoors, a thorough body check is essential, with particular attention to the scalp, behind the ears, the armpits, the waistband, and behind the knees. Showering soon after coming inside can help wash off unattached ticks, and tossing clothes in a hot dryer can kill any that hitched a ride. Pets should be checked as well, since dogs can carry ticks indoors, a detail that resonates given that Reagan was walking his dog when he was likely bitten.
Anyone who develops fever, headache, confusion, weakness, or other neurological symptoms after time outdoors should seek medical care promptly and mention possible tick exposure, since early recognition can guide supportive treatment even when no cure exists.
A Family Holding On to Hope
There was a measure of encouraging news in Reagan’s fight. His friends reported that for the first time in weeks, he opened his eyes and began breathing on his own. The community around him has rallied, raising money to help cover his family’s medical expenses and using his ordeal to spread awareness about a virus most had never heard of. Wright captured the toll the illness has taken on those who love Reagan. “It’s crushing a lot of people. It’s sad,” he said.
For New Hampshire residents heading into the heart of tick season, Reagan’s story is a reminder that the smallest of bites can carry the gravest of consequences, and that a few minutes of prevention can matter far more than most people realize.
This article discusses a serious illness. If you have concerns about your own health or possible tick exposure, consult a medical professional.
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