A Connecticut woman in her 90s has died of Powassan virus, a month after being bitten by an infected tick.

She is the second person in Connecticut to test positive for the virus this year and the first to die. A resident of Maine also died of Powassan in April.

Officials say she was hospitalized with a fever, headache, chest pain and altered mental state two weeks after the tick bite. She died two weeks later.

Cases of Powassan virus are rare in the United States, with about 25 cases reported each year since 2015.

Powassan virus is usually spread through the bite of an infected blacklegged tick. While many people infected with Powassan may experience no symptoms or only a mild illness, severe cases can be fatal. And those who survive a severe case may experience long-term health problems.

SOURCE OF INFORMATION: Connecticut Department of Health