Health officials have confirmed New York State’s first known case of the rare and potentially severe Bourbon virus, identified in a Suffolk County resident who contracted the pathogen after being bitten by ticks while working outdoors.
New York Confirms First Human Case of Rare Bourbon Virus on Long Island
Larkin experienced a spiking fever, extreme headaches, severe night sweats, fatigue, a rash, body aches, nausea, and vomiting. Initial hospital blood tests showed abnormally high liver enzymes and critically low blood platelets, while standard testing ruled out Lyme disease. Although he was treated with antibiotics appropriate for Lyme disease, that approach left the virus untreated. Larkin spent five days hospitalized, receiving supportive care from infectious disease specialists before making a full recovery.
The diagnosis was formally confirmed in April 2026 after researchers analyzed blood samples. Bateman, Rudline G. Ciota, Alan P.
To uncover how the virus reached the state, researchers examined blood samples collected between 2019 and 2024 from 107 patients who experienced fevers and other symptoms of tick-borne illnesses. Out of those 107 individuals, testing revealed that two people carried neutralizing antibodies against the Bourbon virus, indicating their immune systems had encountered the pathogen.
One of those patients demonstrated an acute infection, showing a fourfold increase in antibody levels that ultimately rose eightfold over a one-month period. This one case certainly was the Bourbon virus, and over a one-month period antibody titers increased eight-fold.
Because commercial laboratories currently lack a rapid diagnostic test for the pathogen, medical experts explain that infections are frequently missed or mistaken for other tick-related ailments. The Bourbon virus shares symptoms with Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, and tularemia.
Origins, Rarity, and Rising Vector Populations
The Bourbon virus takes its name from Bourbon County, Kansas, where it was first identified in a human patient in 2014. Nationally, fewer than a dozen cases have been documented since its discovery. While the first case in Kansas was fatal, and another death linked to the virus was reported in 2026, the overall recorded incidence across states like Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri has averaged less than one case per year.
Medical researchers emphasize that the virus is likely circulating far more widely than current figures indicate. 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 primary vector for the virus is the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum), which can be identified by a distinctive white dot or “lone star” on its back. Experts link the spread of the vector to swelling white-tailed deer populations living near suburban areas in the absence of natural predators, alongside milder winters and longer warm seasons that allow ticks to remain active longer and range farther north.
Treatment Limitations and Prevention Guidelines
There is currently no vaccine to prevent the Bourbon virus, no commercial test to identify it, and no specific pharmaceutical treatments or cures available. Because it is a viral infection rather than a bacterial one, traditional antibiotics are ineffective.
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