Kansas Man Suffers In A Way Doctors Have Never Seen Before

After being bitten by ticks, a man developed a virus medical professionals had never seen before.

A farmer from Bourbon County, Kansas, went to the hospital in 2014 with a high fever, nausea and a rash, according to Boredom Therapy. Doctors assumed the man had Lyme disease because he had recently suffered several tick bites. An analysis of his blood told another story.

The man’s blood work showed no signs of Lyme disease, but it did show another virus was present. This viral infection ended up being new to the medical community and was named the Bourbon virus, after where the man was from.

Doctors were unable to find a cure for the virus and the man died from complications related to it.

The CDC places the Bourbon virus in a group of viruses called thogotoviruses. These viruses are found all over the world, and some can cause people to get sick.

Medical professionals don’t yet fully understand how the Bourbon virus infects its hosts, but it likely spreads through tick or other insect bites.

Only one reported case of the Bourbon virus is cited by the CDC, although Boredom Therapy reports that a second person was infected in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and made a full recovery.

According to the CDC, symptoms of the Bourbon virus include fever, tiredness, rash, headaches, body aches, nausea and vomiting. Blood tests found that the farmer from Bourbon County had low blood counts for infection-fighting cells.

There is no vaccine or drug that prevents or treats the Bourbon virus. To avoid contracting the Bourbon virus, people should take precautions against tick and other insect bites when they spend time outside. Measures include using insect repellent, wearing long sleeves and pants, avoiding overgrown and wooded areas, and performing tick checks.

Sources: Boredom Therapy, CDC / Photo credit: John Flannery/Flickr