Health experts in New York have confirmed the state’s first known case of a potentially deadly tick-borne illness with no cure.
Father-of-three Michael Larkin, 67, from Long Island, was diagnosed with Bourbon virus, a rare virus that causes pain, fever, fatigue and rashes.
Only a handful of cases have been identified, all of which were in the Midwest. Two patients diagnosed with the infection have died.
Larkin was bitten by two lone star ticks while he was doing yard work at his home in Suffolk County.
He quickly removed them, but several days later he fell ill with a fever and debilitating headache.
Doctors initially suspected Lyme disease and tried to treat him with antibiotics, but Larkin continued to deteriorate.
It wasn’t until April this year, after he was bitten in 2021, that he finally received a diagnosis.
Thought to only affect one American a year, Bourbon virus has previously been detected in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. It’s named for Bourbon County, Kansas, where it was first identified in 2014.
Health experts in New York have confirmed the state’s first known case of Bourbon virus, which is spread by lone star ticks (pictured above) and has no cure
While in many cases it leads to mild symptoms such as fever and fatigue, it can also aggressively lower disease-fighting white blood cells, a key part of the immune system, raising the risk of infection.
Bourbon virus also reduces the amount of platelets that help blood clot, meaning even small cuts could lead to catastrophic bleeding.
Larkin told CBS News that he removed the ticks, but a couple days later, ‘I was not feeling well. I went to a local clinic, I told them about the tick bites. They tested for Lyme, but it did not show up.
‘I just kept feeling worse and worse.’
Over the next few days, his symptoms worsened. He said he experienced a rash, fever, night sweats and an excruciating headache.
After being treated with antibiotics for Lyme disease, he continued to worsen.
‘Three or four hours later, I would hit rock bottom and can’t get off the couch,’ he said. ‘I demanded my wife take me to the hospital because that’s how bad it was. I couldn’t stand it anymore.’
Larkin spent five days in the hospital before being released, unsure of what exactly had infected him.
It wasn’t until April 2026 that doctors at Stony Brook University identified his illness as Bourbon virus following a year-long antibody trial.
The study, published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, included 107 people presenting with a fever and other tick-borne illness symptoms between 2019 and 2024. During the trial, researchers collected blood samples from the patients and sent them to the New York State Department of Health.
Larkin’s blood was checked every three months until doctors identified his Bourbon virus infection.
‘This one case certainly was the Bourbon virus, and over a one-month period antibody titers increased eight-fold,’ Dr Luis Marcos, director of the Tick-borne Disease Clinic at Stony Brook University, said.
‘The patient had shown some very severe symptoms and was hospitalized.’
Larkin said he now uses clothing treated with the insecticide permethrin to ward off ticks while he works outdoors.
But now, Marcos is warning that Bourbon virus could be far more widespread than previously thought.
‘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,’ he said.
‘For these reasons, the Bourbon virus is likely more prevalent than we think in our region and other cases are likely not being diagnosed.’
There is no commercial test for Bourbon virus, and samples in New York have to be sent to the health department for analysis.
Health authorities believe there have been fatal cases in 2014, with the Kansas case the disease was named for, and in 2026.
Marcos and his study co-authors stress that their findings ‘highlight 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.’
‘Without identifying the cause of an infection, the chances of developing accurate diagnostic tests or effective treatments are minimal. That is why it is so important to first understand the true impact of the virus in high-risk areas,’ he added.
