New Virus Found in Missouri; Ticks suspected With early bow
season right around the corner, and even already underway in
some states, it's important to know you're not out of the woods
from pesky insects. A new virus has been discovered in Missouri,
and ticks are the likely culprit. It started with fever,
fatigue, diarrhea and loss of appetite. But for two farmers in
northwestern Missouri, the severe illness that followed a tick
bite led epidemiologists on a journey to a new viral discovery.
"It's brand new to the world," said William Nicholson with the
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease at
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "It's
unique in that it's never been found elsewhere and it is the
first phlebovirus found to cause illness in humans in the
Western Hemisphere. At this point we don't know how widespread
it may be, or whether it's found in other states. We don't know
how many people in Missouri may have had this virus, as the
finding of a completely new virus w