A potentially deadly virus spread by ticks seems to have established a foothold in New York, recent research shows.<\/p>\n
Scientists at Stony Brook University and others studied the blood of New York residents with suspected tickborne illness. They identified at least one confirmed case of the Bourbon virus in a Long Island man, who ended up hospitalized but survived his ordeal. Though human cases of Bourbon virus are rarely reported, it\u2019s probably happening more often than assumed, the researchers say.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere 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-born infections,\u201d said lead researcher Luis Marcos, director of the Tickborne Disease Clinic at Stony Brook, in a statement<\/a> from the university. \u201cFor these reasons, the Bourbon virus is likely more prevalent than we think in our region and other cases are likely not being diagnosed.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bourbon virus <\/p>\n The Bourbon virus is named after Bourbon County, Kansas, where it was first discovered<\/a> in a human patient in 2014 (the patient ultimately died<\/a> 11 days after becoming sick). Symptoms of infection include fever, fatigue, and body aches, as well as nausea and vomiting; people can also develop low platelet and white blood cell levels. Its primary vector is the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum). There are no specific treatments or vaccines for Bourbon.<\/p>\n There have only been a handful of confirmed Bourbon virus cases since its discovery, mostly in the U.S. Midwest. But the lone star tick is widely distributed throughout the Midwest and Southeastern U.S., and like many tick species, its range has only expanded over time, including through much of the Northeast.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Bourbon virus has previously been found in New York populations of lone star ticks, and it\u2019s been suspected<\/a> in at least one human case of tickborne illness prior to this newest research. But the authors say theirs is the first conclusive evidence that it\u2019s sickening residents in the state.<\/p>\n The team examined blood samples from 107 individuals with possible symptoms of tickborne illnesses that were collected between 2019 and 2024. Two people tested positive for neutralizing antibodies to Bourbon, while one person experienced a dramatic rise in levels of these antibodies during the study period, suggesting an acute or recent infection.<\/p>\n \u201cThis serologic evidence indicates that these patients were infected with emerging viral tick-borne pathogens,\u201d the researchers wrote in their paper, published<\/a> this May in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.<\/p>\n