--- description: Health officials said it was the tenth known case of the virus and the second that proved to be fatal title: Heartland Virus: Oklahoma Man Dies of Tick-Borne Disease image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6c256fcfd29749b/6986911113c79f2a3b192416/89001570.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Infectious Disease](/tag/infectious-disease/) ## Infectious Disease Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Heartland Virus Claims Second U.S. Fatality  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 28, 2014 3:25 PM CUT  Female lone star tick Female lone star tickGetty Images/Kallista Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 28, 2014 3:25 PM CUT An Oklahoma man has died after contracting the Heartland virus, marking the 10th known case and second known death from the tick-borne illness. The Oklahoma Health Department [confirmed](http://www.ok.gov/health/Organization/Office%5Fof%5FCommunications/News%5FReleases/2014%5FNews%5FReleases/Oklahoma%5FState%5FHealth%5FDepartment%5FConfirms%5FFirst%5FCase%5Fand%5FDeath%5Fof%5FHeartland%5FVirus.html "undefined") the death of a Delaware County resident aged 65, due to complications from the virus. The virus is likely spread through bites from infected Lone Star ticks, health officials said, and symptoms can range from fever to muscle aches to bruising easily. There is [no routine test](http://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dvbd/heartland/ "undefined") to diagnose the virus and no known vaccines to prevent it from spreading. Health officials [say](http://www.ok.gov/health/Disease,%5FPrevention,%5FPreparedness/Acute%5FDisease%5FService/Disease%5FInformation/Tickborne%5Fand%5FMosquitoborne%5FDiseases/index.html "undefined") the only precaution outdoor lovers can take against the virus is by reducing their exposure to tick and mosquito bites. The first known death from the virus was in Missouri in 2009. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/123402/heartland-virus-oklahoma/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/123402/heartland-virus-oklahoma/"},"headline":"Heartland Virus Claims Second U.S. Fatality","datePublished":"2014-05-28T15:25:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:04:59.143Z","description":"Health officials say the Oklahoma case was the tenth known of the tick-borne virus and the second that proved to be fatal","url":"https://time.com/123402/heartland-virus-oklahoma/","keywords":["Infectious Disease"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6c256fcfd29749b/6986911113c79f2a3b192416/89001570.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6c256fcfd29749b/6986911113c79f2a3b192416/89001570.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"89001570","caption":"89001570","creditText":"Getty Images/Kallista Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/123402/heartland-virus-oklahoma/","name":"Heartland Virus Claims Second U.S. Fatality"}}]}] ```