There is no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat the Bourbon virus, which is transmitted by the lone star tick
The first case of Bourbon virus has been confirmed in New York, prompting researchers to call for expanded surveillance and testing amid warnings that the rare tick-borne infection may be more widespread than currently known.
Discovered in 2014 and named after Bourbon County, Kansas, where it was first identified, the virus is believed to be transmitted by the lone star tick. There is no vaccine or medicine available to prevent or treat the illness. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, rash, headache, body aches, nausea and vomiting.
Only six human cases have been reported since the virus was identified, primarily in the central US. The first known patient, diagnosed in Kansas in 2014, died.
According to a Stony Brook Medicine study released last month, Bourbon virus “could soon begin to complicate diagnoses if it becomes more prevalent this summer and in coming years.”
Researchers studied blood samples from 107 patients who developed fever and other symptoms after recent tick bites in Suffolk County between 2019 and 2024 and found that two had antibodies to Bourbon virus.
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