When most of us think of diseases caused by ticks, likely Lyme Disease first comes to mind, and then maybe Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever or Alpha-gal Syndrome. Now, there is another dangerous tick-borne illness: Bourbon virus.
This relatively rare disease was first discovered in 2014 in Kansas, and scientists recently documented the first case in New York. Bourbon virus presents several challenges to medical and public health professionals. Here’s what we know.
What Happened?
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), scientists first identified the virus in 2014 in Bourbon County, Kan. It spreads through bites of infected Lone Star ticks. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, rash, headache and other body aches, and nausea and vomiting. It can be fatal: The original Bourbon County, Kan., patient passed away.
There are no vaccines or medicines available to treat the illness. Typically, patients receive intravenous fluids and medicine for pain and fever. As of 2024, scientists had only identified five cases in three states (Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri).
To better understand the prevalence of Bourbon virus, a group of researchers examined 107 people who reported having symptoms after a tick bite in Suffolk County, New York, from 2019 to 2024. They tested the blood for antibodies to the Bourbon virus, and two individuals tested positive, one of whom was hospitalized. This was the first confirmed presence of the virus in New York state.
A Dearth of Data
While overall the disease is rare, scientists widely agree that the disease is probably more widespread than official data would indicate.
A 2024 study showed that the Lone Star tick is expanding beyond its namesake area further north, making infections possible. Many doctors are unfamiliar with the illness, and many of the early symptoms are the same as Lyme disease, so it can be easily misdiagnosed. There is no commercial test available to confirm the infection.
“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,” the study’s lead author Dr. Luis Marcos said in a press release from Stony Brook University. “For these reasons, the Bourbon virus is likely more prevalent than we think in our region and other cases are likely not being diagnosed.”
The “evidence indicates that these patients were infected with emerging viral tick-born[e] pathogens and further highlights the need for expanded viral surveillance, clinical testing, and assay development to improve clinical decision-making and inform tick-borne disease epidemiology and vector management,” the study concluded.
The Broader Context
Bourbon virus is just the latest piece of concerning news regarding ticks. According to a CDC report, in 2025, a New York resident contracted an unusual, more severe subset of Lyme Disease caused by the bacterium Borrelia mayoniim. The California Department of Public Health reported in January that a state resident had been infected with the Rickettsia lanei bacteria, which causes a more serious version of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
It was only the fourth human infection recorded.
In April, the CDC reported that hospital visits for tick bites in 2026 had spiked far above average.
In almost every region of the U.S., weekly rates of E.R. visits for ticks were the highest since 2017. Due to climate change and warming temperatures, tick season is beginning sooner, and fewer ticks are dying off during the winter.
Given rising tick populations and a greater number of diseases, tick prevention and awareness are more important than ever.
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