CDC Discovers New Lethal Tick Virus

The Centers for Disease Control has identified a never seen before virus which killed a Kansas man in 2014.

The CDC says the disease is called the Bourbon Virus, and it was named for the Kansas county where the first victim was infected. The victim was a man who was working in his yard in the spring of 2014. He reported being bitten by several ticks as he worked.

The man became ill shortly thereafter and then sought treatment at a local hospital after his symptons did not abate. He reported symptoms of fever, tiredness, rash, headaches and body aches, nausea, and vomiting. The man also exhibited low counts of disease fighting cells and cells that help to prevent bleeding. The CDC warns there may be other possible symptoms, but they cannot say for sure because they have only seen the disease once.

Because this disease is so new to science, the CDC says they cannot say for sure if the disease is local to Kansas and plains states, or if it exists elsewhere in the United States.

As a precaution, people should take extra care to protect themselves from tick bites. These steps include the use of bug sprays, limiting the amount of exposed skin when outside, avoiding wooded areas, and doing thorough tick checks once back inside.

There are no tests for the disease, and there are not yet any treatments. Because the disease is a virus, antibiotics will not help to fight it. The doctors treating the patient used drugs typically used to fight tick borne diseases, but they did not appear to have any effect against the Bourbon virus.

The disease is an RNA virus of the genus Thogotovirus.