Health experts in New York have confirmed the state’s first known case of a potentially deadly tick-borne illness with no cure.
Father-of-three Michael Larkin, 67, from Long Island, was diagnosed with Bourbon virus, a rare virus that causes pain, fever, fatigue and rashes.
Only a handful of cases have been identified, all of which were in the Midwest. Two patients diagnosed with the infection have died.
Larkin was bitten by two lone star ticks while he was doing yard work at his home in Suffolk County.
He quickly removed them, but several days later he fell ill with a fever and debilitating headache.
Doctors initially suspected Lyme disease and tried to treat him with antibiotics, but Larkin continued to deteriorate.
It wasn’t until April this year, after he was bitten in 2021, that he finally received a diagnosis.
Thought to only affect one American a year, Bourbon virus has previously been detected in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. It’s named for Bourbon County, Kansas, where it was first identified in 2014.