The incurable Bourbon virus is spreading in the United States. What you need to know

In New York, the first case of the rare Bourbon virus was identified, which was first detected in the United States in 2014. Since then, only six cases of the disease have been confirmed. You can get infected with the virus from a tick bite: there is no vaccine against it, and only specialized medical centers can diagnose the disease. How the Bourbon virus spreads, why it is difficult to detect it, and what are the chances of those who become ill — in the Izvestia article.

What are the symptoms of the virus?

• The virus causes "Bourbon syndrome," which is characterized by fever, fatigue, rash, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, and nausea and vomiting. The disease is accompanied by a decrease in the content of white blood cells and platelets in the blood, which leads to a weakening of the immune system and problems with blood clotting.

• The symptoms of the disease are similar to Lyme disease (borreliosis), which is also transmitted by ticks. This makes it difficult to diagnose, since borreliosis is more common, and the test for this disease is carried out first. The similarity of symptoms also complicates treatment: borreliosis is usually treated with antibiotics, and such drugs are ineffective against viruses, including the Bourbon virus, and can lead to decreased immunity.

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How the virus spreads

• Bourbon syndrome is an extremely rare disease, with six confirmed cases from 2014 to 2026: in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. The Bourbon virus (BRBV) was first identified in 2014 in Bourbon County, Kansas, hence its name. Later, the disease was diagnosed in the Midwest of the United States, as well as in the South and East Coast. There is no vaccine against the virus.

• In New York, the disease was diagnosed for the first time - information about it appeared in the American press on August 1. 67-year-old Michael Larkin suffered from fevers, headaches and night sweats for five years after being bitten by a tick, but doctors could not determine his disease: the analysis for borreliosis did not give a positive result, and tests for the Bourbon virus are carried out only by specialized centers for disease control and prevention. Nevertheless, the patient was prescribed antibiotics, which did not help him in any way. A year-long antibody study at Stony Brook University Medical Center helped determine the cause of the ailment: every three months, Larkin had a blood test for antibodies and only in July 2026 were they able to detect the virus.

• According to the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus is most likely transmitted by an infected female North American ixodid mite Amblyomma americanum, which is also called the "lone star" because of the characteristic pattern on its back. The parasite lives in North America, as well as in Central and Southern Mexico, although there have been rare cases when it has been found in New Zealand.

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How to treat the Bourbon virus

• American researchers suggest that Bourbon syndrome may turn out to be a more common disease than previously thought: it's just that in some patients the virus has not been confirmed in the laboratory. The University of North Carolina School of Medicine has discovered antibodies to the Bourbon virus in the blood serum of people at risk and found four previously undiagnosed cases out of 518 people. At the same time, the disease can be fatal: two cases of death from the Bourbon virus have been described — in 2014 and in 2026.

• Due to the fact that the disease is poorly understood, there is no cure for it: so far, doctors are only trying to alleviate the symptoms of the disease. St. Louis Medical University in Missouri is testing the antiviral drug favipiravir against the Bourbon virus: tests on laboratory mice have already yielded positive results, and all treated mice have survived. But it is not yet known whether this treatment regimen will work for humans.

• It is unknown whether other ticks can carry this virus. The involvement of the lone star tick was determined thanks to research from the University of North Carolina: the highest risk of infection was found in people suffering from Alpha-Gal Syndrome (AGS), an intolerance to dairy products and mammalian meat that can develop one to six months after being bitten by this tick.

• The chances that the Bourbon virus-carrying tick will spread beyond the United States and Mexico are extremely low, so there is no reason to fear an outbreak in Russia or Europe. But viruses with similar RNA structure are also detected in other countries: for example, the genetically similar Bourbon virus Thogotovirus (Oz virus) was discovered in Japan. According to Rospotrebnadzor, more than 30 new viruses have been identified in Russia, including ticks. While these viruses have not been studied and vaccines have not been developed for them, the main prevention of tick-borne infections remains the treatment of clothing with acaricidal drugs.