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Orthomyxovirus

The Medical Characteristics of the Orthomyxovirus (Influenza) Family - Healthy LifeStyle Awareness

CDC Announces Discovery of New Deadly Virus

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)announced Friday they have discovered a new virus that killed an otherwisehealthy man last year in the United States. The agency published the announcement in its Emerging Infectious Diseases journal.

CDC officials reported the Kansas man had tick bites. After becoming ill, the man was given medication for tick-borne illnesses. When his condition didn’t improve, his blood samples were sent to the CDC. The agency determined the man was infected with an unknown virus. CDC officials eventually linked it to the Thogotovirus group and named it the Bourbon virus. The man quickly developed multiple organ failure and died 11 days after developing symptoms.

CDC officials said they’re working with Kansas health officials to determine if other people are infected with Bourbon virus. They are also researching to better understand the virus and how it is spread.

This is the first time such a virus has caused human illness in the United States. It’s only the eighth time a Thogotovirus has caused symptoms in a person worldwide. Viruses in this group have been linked to ticks and mosquitoes in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Thogotovirus is a member of the Orthomyxovirus family, the same family as influenza virus. Like influenza virus it has a genome of six single-strands of RNA. Most viruses have a genome with a single strand of either DNA or RNA. Unlike influenza virus which is passed from human to human, the thogotovirus is transmitted by ticks.