NEW YORK, Aug. 2 (Our New York News) — A rare tick-borne virus has been confirmed in New York for the first time, but the finding does not show that Bourbon virus is widespread or that most tick bites will cause serious illness.
The case involved a Long Island patient who developed severe symptoms after a tick bite, according to researchers at Stony Brook Medicine. The patient was hospitalized and survived. The study did not establish the risk of infection from any single tick bite, the number of undiagnosed infections in New York or whether Bourbon virus is increasing in the state.
For people who spend time outdoors, the practical concern remains avoiding tick bites and seeking medical care for unexplained illness after a bite. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there is no vaccine or medicine available to prevent or treat Bourbon virus disease. Specialized testing is required because there is no widely available commercial test.
What is Bourbon virus?
Bourbon virus is a virus associated with the lone star tick, known scientifically as Amblyomma americanum, according to the CDC. It was first identified in Bourbon County, Kansas, in 2014. The first known patient later died, according to CDC information cited in reports about the New York case.
Reported symptoms can include fever, fatigue, rash, headache, body aches, nausea and vomiting. The CDC has also described low white blood cell and platelet counts in people with the disease, according to reports citing the agency.
Those symptoms can overlap with other illnesses, including infections caused by ticks. That overlap can make Bourbon virus difficult to recognize without specialized laboratory testing.
What did the New York study find?
The study, published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, examined 107 people in Suffolk County who developed fever and other symptoms after a tick bite between 2019 and 2024, according to Stony Brook Medicine.
Two participants had neutralizing antibodies to Bourbon virus. In one participant, antibody levels increased eightfold over one month. Luis Marcos, the study’s lead author and a professor at Stony Brook University’s Renaissance School of Medicine, said that increase confirmed an acute or recent infection.
Marcos said the patient had severe symptoms and was hospitalized. Reports identifying the patient as 67-year-old Michael Larkin say he was bitten in his backyard in Suffolk County in 2021 and was initially treated with doxycycline for suspected Lyme disease. His symptoms did not improve, according to those reports. The study itself reportedly did not identify the patient by name.
The researchers also found antibodies to Heartland virus in one participant. No participant tested positive for Powassan virus, according to the study summary from Stony Brook Medicine.
Why might cases be missed?
Bourbon virus is not covered by the routine testing commonly used for more familiar tick-borne infections. Stony Brook Medicine says New York samples are sent to the New York State Department of Health for specialized analysis.
That means a person with fever and other symptoms after a tick bite may first be evaluated for conditions such as Lyme disease. A negative or incomplete explanation may not immediately lead to Bourbon virus testing, particularly because the illness is rare and testing is not widely available.
The study’s results show that two of 107 people in this selected group had antibodies to Bourbon virus. That is not an estimate of the risk for the general population, nor does it show how common the virus is among ticks or people in New York.
What should people keep in mind?
The confirmed case is relevant to doctors evaluating severe or unexplained illness after tick exposure, especially in areas where lone star ticks are found. It is not a confirmed New York City case: the reported patient and study participants were from Suffolk County on Long Island.
The CDC’s position is that no vaccine or medicine is available specifically to prevent or treat Bourbon virus disease. Because symptoms can be serious and may resemble other infections, people who become ill after a tick bite should tell a health care professional about the exposure. A clinician can decide which conditions to test for and whether specialized testing is appropriate.
Researchers have raised concern that some infections could go undiagnosed, but the available study does not show an outbreak or a rising infection rate in New York.
