The CDC says a newly discovered virus called Bourbon may have contributed to the death a Kansas man who was a bitten by ticks last spring. The man became immediately ill with symptoms including fever, body aches, and vomiting. “Multiorgan failure developed” and he died of a heart attack 11 days after being hospitalized. He was 50 and healthy before the onset. The virus is named for the Kansas county, Bourbon, where the patient lived.
This single case in Bourbon, Kansas marks the only appearance so far of the “novel RNA virus,” according to the CDC. Currently there are “no specific medications or therapies for Bourbon disease.”
