Overview
- Stony Brook Medicine announced that it confirmed New York’s first known human Bourbon virus infection in April 2026 after specialized serologic testing identified the pathogen in a Long Island patient.
- The patient, 67-year-old Michael Larkin, was bitten by two lone star ticks in 2021, was hospitalized for several days with fever and severe headaches, and recovered after supportive care; it took years for the diagnosis to be established.
- There is no licensed vaccine, no approved antiviral therapy, and few laboratories in the U.S. can run the molecular or antibody tests needed to diagnose Bourbon virus, which slows identification and reporting.
- Public health and entomology findings link transmission to the lone star tick and rising white‑tailed deer populations plus milder winters, a combination that has expanded the tick’s range into parts of the Northeast and increased exposure risk.
- Researchers say the case, supported by retrospective serology and tick and deer surveillance, underscores likely underdiagnosis in the region and has prompted calls for expanded viral surveillance, better diagnostics, and clearer guidance for clinicians.