A rarely diagnosed tick-borne virus with no vaccine or specific treatment has been confirmed in New York for the first time, prompting researchers to warn that additional infections may be going undiagnosed.The Bourbon virus, "transmitted through the common lone star tick, could soon begin to complicate diagnoses if it becomes more prevalent this summer and in coming years," Stony Brook Medicine warned in a news release reporting on a study of the virus.Only six human cases have been reported since Bourbon virus was first identified in Bourbon County, Kansas, where the first known patient was diagnosed in 2014.That patient later died.CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE NEWSThe virus has been associated with at least two deaths, including the original 2014 case and another reported in 2026.
Researchers believe, however, that additional infections have likely gone undiagnosed.Symptoms of Bourbon virus include fever, fatigue, rash, headache, body aches and nausea.Because there is no commercially available diagnostic test, doctors have a difficult time identifying it.Adult female lone star ticks are identifiable by a white dot, or lone star, on their backs.
(iStock)Many healthcare providers are also unfamiliar with the virus, "thus increasing the possibility of misdiagnosis," the release said.A team of researchers led by Stony Brook Medicine confirmed the first case of Bourbon virus in New York in a patient from Long Island who developed very severe symptoms and an eight-fold rise in antibody titers of the Bourbon virus.The patient was hospitalized.CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP"There are a lot of lone star ticks in New York and in the Northeast, we have dense populations, and when someone is infected with Bourbon virus symptoms they are similar to other tick-borne infections," Luis Marcos, MD, Stony Brook Medicine professor and director of the Tick-borne Disease Clinic, said in the news release."For these reasons, the Bourbon virus is likely more prevalent than w...