Shirley man identified as New York’s first Bourbon virus case

A Shirley man’s illness has put Suffolk County at the center of New York’s first confirmed human case of Bourbon virus, a rare tick-borne infection that can look like the flu, Lyme disease and other summer tick illnesses before it turns serious. Michael Larkin became sick after noticing two ticks on his thigh while landscaping near his Shirley home, then developed headache, rash, high fever and night sweats before spending five days at Stony Brook University Hospital.

Stony Brook doctors later confirmed the diagnosis after samples were tested by the New York State Department of Health. The bite happened in 2021, but the case was only identified recently, a delay that shows how unusual tick-borne diseases can remain hidden until specialized testing catches them. For Suffolk County, where Stony Brook’s tick-borne disease handbook says the population is about 1.8 million and the county reports the highest absolute number of tick-borne disease cases in New York, the finding is a warning that new infections can surface close to home.

Bourbon virus differs from the tick illnesses Long Islanders usually hear about because it is not a bacterial infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is believed to spread through the bite of an infected tick, it was discovered in 2014 in Bourbon County, Kansas, and there is no vaccine or medicine to treat it. Patients may not respond to doxycycline, the antibiotic often used when doctors suspect other tick-borne diseases, so a lingering fever, rash or severe body aches after a tick bite should not be dismissed if standard treatment does not help.

The CDC says symptoms can include fever, fatigue, rash, headache, body aches, nausea and vomiting. In Larkin’s case, the illness also included severe headache, high fever and night sweats, all signs that should prompt medical attention when they follow a known or possible tick exposure. That is especially important on Long Island, where Stony Brook says the lone star tick can transmit Bourbon virus and remains active from early spring through late fall.

The local risk is broader than one Shirley backyard. A peer-reviewed review found Bourbon virus was first identified in 2014 after a severe febrile illness in Kansas, and later research said the virus has since been reported in New Jersey and New York State. Another study found Bourbon virus RNA in a tick removed from a Long Island resident in July 2019 and concluded that active transmission was occurring in New York, especially Suffolk County. With tick season underway and Stony Brook having hosted a symposium on tick-borne diseases on May 27, the message for residents is clear: prevent tick bites, check for ticks after outdoor work or time in the woods, and get medical care quickly if fever, rash or other symptoms appear.