Suffolk County, NY Confirms First Bourbon Virus Case Amid Tularemia Alerts

Health officials in Suffolk County, New York have confirmed the state’s first human case of the rare Bourbon virus. The patient, 67‑year‑old landscaper Michael Larkin, was bitten by lone‑star ticks while working outdoors and experienced high fever, severe headache, night sweats, rash and low platelet counts. Standard tests for Lyme disease were negative; after specialized analysis by Stony Brook Medicine and the New York State Department of Health, the infection was confirmed in April 2026 and the patient recovered after supportive care. Bourbon virus, first identified in Kansas in 2014, has no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment and is diagnosed only through specialized laboratory testing.

In the same period, Suffolk County health officials reported three probable cases of tularemia, a bacterial disease also known as “rabbit fever.” One case involves nine‑year‑old John Detmer, who developed severe head and neck pain, a ten‑day fever and an ulcer after a tick bite in his backyard. Tularemia is treatable with antibiotics, but diagnosis can take weeks. Both incidents occur amid an unusually severe tick season, with expanding lone‑star tick populations prompting public health warnings to use repellents, wear protective clothing and check pets and bodies for ticks.