{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T01:19:08Z","timestamp":1788311948012,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":62,"publisher":"American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene","issue":"6","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT.<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Powassan virus lineage II or deer tick virus (DTV) is a rare but increasingly reported human infection in the United States transmitted by <jats:italic>Ixodes scapularis<\/jats:italic> ticks. The virus is thought to be maintained in environmental foci that are optimal for tick and vertebrate reservoirs, but details on DTV ecology are poorly understood. We investigated DTV tick infection rates and reservoir host abundance in a focus of consistent DTV activity in Maine, USA. Host and tick abundance, vegetation, and microclimate conditions were measured in three forest sites representing increasing invasive understory infestation. Sites were selected representing native understory, mixed vegetation with some invasive Japanese barberry (<jats:italic>Berberis thunbergii<\/jats:italic>), and a highly invasive site dominated by Japanese barberry. Japanese barberry in the mixed vegetation site averaged 1\u2009m in height with space between plants, whereas the highly invasive site had impenetrable Japanese barberry over 1.5\u2009m. The DTV infection rate was greater in the highly invasive site. Density of <jats:italic>I. scapularis<\/jats:italic> ticks were significantly lower in the native forest site, and no DTV was found. Another feature of the DTV focus was more stable humid microclimate throughout the year compared with the other sites and a nearby continuous section of forest, consistent with reports from Connecticut, USA. We conclude that invasive Japanese barberry stands provide favorable and consistent microclimate conditions to maintain high DTV infection rates annually among questing <jats:italic>I. scapularis<\/jats:italic> ticks. Understanding environmental and landscape features that support high infection rates could lead to the identification of high-risk habitats for contracting DTV.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.23-0532","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,30]],"date-time":"2024-07-30T13:58:50Z","timestamp":1722347930000},"page":"1302-1310","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Features of Consistent Powassan Virus Lineage II Focus in Southern Maine, United States"],"prefix":"10.4269","volume":"111","author":[{"given":"Lindsay","family":"Baxter","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Ithaca, New York;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Charles","family":"Lubelczyk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MaineHealth Institute for Research Lyme and Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory, Scarborough, Maine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura C.","family":"Harrington","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Ithaca, New York;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jake","family":"Angelico","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Ithaca, New York;"},{"name":"MaineHealth Institute for Research Lyme and Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory, Scarborough, Maine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Molly C.","family":"Meagher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MaineHealth Institute for Research Lyme and Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory, Scarborough, Maine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Robert P.","family":"Smith","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MaineHealth Institute for Research Lyme and Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory, Scarborough, Maine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rebecca M.","family":"Robich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MaineHealth Institute for Research Lyme and Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory, Scarborough, Maine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2795","reference":[{"key":"b1","series-title":"Clin Microbiol Rev","first-page":"e00106-17","article-title":"Tick-borne flaviviruses, with a focus on Powassan virus","volume":"32","author":"Kemenesi","year":"2018"},{"key":"b2","series-title":"Am J Trop Med Hyg","first-page":"36","article-title":"Enzootic transmission of deer tick virus in New England and Wisconsin sites","volume":"63","author":"Goethert","year":"2000"},{"key":"b3","series-title":"Emerg Infect Dis","first-page":"165","article-title":"A new tick-borne encephalitis-like virus infecting New England deer ticks, Ixodes 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