NEW YORK, Aug. 2 (Our New York News) — A rare tick-borne infection has been confirmed in New York for the first time, but health researchers say the finding is not evidence that Bourbon virus is spreading widely across the state.
Stony Brook Medicine researchers identified the infection in a Long Island patient who developed severe illness after a tick bite and was hospitalized. The patient survived, according to the researchers’ account of a study published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
For most people, the practical lesson is the same as with other tick-borne diseases: take steps to avoid tick bites, and tell a clinician about a recent bite if fever or other symptoms develop. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there is no vaccine or medicine available to prevent or treat Bourbon virus disease.
How rare is it?
The Stony Brook study examined 107 Suffolk County residents who had fever and other symptoms after tick bites between 2019 and 2024. Researchers found neutralizing antibodies to Bourbon virus in two participants.
One participant had an eight-fold rise in antibody levels 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. The patient with the confirmed infection was hospitalized with severe symptoms and later survived.
Those findings cannot show how likely a person is to become infected after a tick bite. The study was designed around people who already had symptoms after reported tick exposure, not a random sample of New Yorkers or all tick bites. It also does not establish that Bourbon virus infections are increasing in New York.
What is Bourbon virus?
The CDC says Bourbon virus was first identified in Bourbon County, Kansas, in 2014. It is associated with lone star ticks, a tick species found in parts of the eastern, southern and central United States.
Reported symptoms include fever, fatigue, rash, headache, body aches, nausea and vomiting. The CDC also describes low white blood cell and platelet counts among possible signs of the illness.
These symptoms overlap with other infections, including Lyme disease and other illnesses spread by ticks. In the Long Island case, reports based on the study said the patient initially received doxycycline for suspected Lyme disease but did not improve. That experience does not mean doxycycline is ineffective for Lyme disease; it shows why doctors may need to consider other causes when symptoms persist.
Why diagnosis can be difficult
There is no widely available commercial test for Bourbon virus, according to Stony Brook Medicine and CDC-attributed information. New York samples are sent to the New York State Department of Health for specialized analysis, Stony Brook said.
Marcos said the study’s antibody testing helped identify an infection that might otherwise have been missed. The researchers also found antibodies to Heartland virus in one participant. No participant tested positive for Powassan virus.
Because testing is limited and Bourbon virus can resemble other tick-borne illnesses, researchers said some infections may go undiagnosed. That is a concern about detection, not proof that many cases are occurring.
What should people do after a tick bite?
The CDC’s general tick-bite prevention guidance includes reducing contact with ticks and checking the body, clothing and gear after spending time outdoors. A tick check is especially relevant in areas with brush, tall grass or leaf litter, where lone star ticks may be present.
A tick bite does not mean a person has Bourbon virus. But a person who develops fever, unusual fatigue, rash, headache, body aches, nausea or vomiting after a bite should tell a health care professional about the exposure, according to the symptoms and testing concerns described by the CDC and Stony Brook researchers.
The supplied reports describe the confirmed infection as involving Suffolk County on Long Island, not New York City. The case is significant because it expands the known geographic range of Bourbon virus, but the available study does not provide an estimate of the infection risk for New Yorkers or show that the virus poses a broad public-health emergency.
