Update on Tickborne Bourbon Virus in the US

Molly K. Roe, et al., published the synopsis “Comprehensive ReviewTickborne Bourbon Virus of Emergence and Virology of Tickborne Bourbon Virus in the United States” in the CDC’s January 2023 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases. The purpose of the study was to better understand the biology of Bourbon virus (BRBV).

Since being discovered in Bourbon County, Kansas, in 2014, cases of BRBV infection in humans have been detected in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. The review provides an illustration of the emergence, virology, geographic range, ecology, and human disease caused by BRBV as well as a discussion of possible treatments. BRBV and other evolving viral pathogens continue to be crucial public health concerns and demand ongoing study and surveillance to lessen exposure and disease risk to humans.

The synopsis was followed up with the dispatch “Bourbon Virus Transmission, New York, USA” by Alan P. Dupuis, et al. The article details a study by which researchers tracked results of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) blood samples and found they demonstrated active transmissions taking place in New York – particularly in Suffolk County. The study emphasizes the demand for surveillance in areas where Amblyomma americanum (lone star) ticks are reported since the species is the likely vector of BRBV transmission in the U.S.


For more information:

Read the synopsis published in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Read the dispatch published in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Learn more about Bourbon virus.  

Learn more about lone star ticks.