Newly Discovered Virus Kills Kansas Man

A previously undiscovered virus, likely spread by ticks, seems to have been what killed a Kansas man, according to federal health officials. The man was bitten by a tick last spring and became ill. Genetic tests of his blood at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that he was infected with an undiscovered virus that scientists are now calling the Bourbon virus (the infected man lived in Bourbon County). "It will be important to determine how widespread the Bourbon virus is in both ticks, insects, animals and humans and to grasp the spectrum of illness it is capable of causing," Amesh Adalja, senior associate at the Center for Health Security of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said. "The fact that a novel virus was discovered underscores the need for perpetual vigilance, in all locales, with respect to emerging infectious diseases. It is only by leaving no stone unturned when investigating unexplained illnesses that humans can best prepare for microbial threats."