Bourbon Virus
February 8, 2016
Bourbon virus (BOUV) is one of an increasing list of new tick-borne viruses. BOUV is named after a man who died of the Thogotovirus in Bourbon County, Kansas in 2014. BOUV was first identified in Bourbon County, but doctors and researchers guess that this was likely not the first case, and is probably the cause for an unknown number of other undiagnosed or misdiagnosed illnesses in the surrounding area. However, it is too soon to know exactly how prevalent BOUV is, and more information will undoubtedly be released as it becomes available.
Unlike many tick-borne infections, BOUV is a virus and will not respond to antibiotics, so the only treatment as of yet is to support the patient and attempt to relieve symptoms. Symptoms of BOUV are still being investigated, but the Kansas man who passed away suffered from nausea, headaches, muscle pain, fever, laboratory abnormalities, and eventually organ failure.