State health officials have identified a rare tickborne illness in southeast Kansas. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) recently confirmed the heartland virus disease in a Crawford County resident. This is the first case of heartland virus in Crawford County and only the third case identified in Kansas since the virus was first discovered in northwest Missouri in 2009. The previous two cases in Kansas were identified in Miami County in 2015 and Anderson County in 2018. To date, there have been more than 50 cases of heartland virus diagnosed across the midwest and southern United States. The Crawford County resident was diagnosed in late May.
Heartland virus is transmitted through the bite of an infected lone star tick, the most common tick in Kansas, which is most active from May through August. The symptoms of heartland virus disease are vague and include fever, fatigue, muscle or joint pain, headache and occasionally a rash.
