Tularemia, also known as “rabbit fever,” is an illness caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. It is spread through contact with animals that have the bacteria—usually through contact with wild animals, including hares, rabbits, squirrels, muskrats, beavers, and deer.
What are the chances of getting rabbit fever?
“In the U.S. there are 20 to 50 reported cases a year, and this is clearly an underestimate of what really occurs. People usually get it from direct contact with rabbits — hunters mostly, who nick themselves while skinning rabbits. And even that is relatively rare.”
Can people get rabbit fever?
Commonly called “rabbit fever” or “deer fly fever,” people get tularemia from exposure to deer flies and ticks that have F. tularensis infections. You can also get it from contact with infected animals (generally rabbits, hares and rodents) or food and water sources contaminated with the bacteria.
Where is rabbit fever most commonly found?
Tularemia is usually a rural disease and has been reported in all U.S. states except Hawaii, although most cases occur in the south-central and western states. Nearly all cases occur in rural areas, and are caused by the bites of ticks and biting flies or from handling infected rodents, rabbits, or hares.
How can you prevent rabbit fever?
Wear an insect repellent with DEET, IR3535 or lemon eucalyptus oil to repel ticks, biting flies and mosquitoes. Wear shoes in areas where rabbits have died because the bacteria can live for several months. Wear a dust mask when mowing or blowing vegetation in areas where rabbits have died.
Can tularemia be cured?
Antibiotics used to treat tularemia include streptomycin, gentamicin, doxycycline, and ciprofloxacin. Treatment usually lasts 10 to 21 days depending on the stage of illness and the medication used. Although symptoms may last for several weeks, most patients completely recover.
Is tularemia curable in humans?
Tularemia can be life-threatening, but most infections can be treated successfully with antibiotics. Steps to prevent tularemia include: Using insect repellent. Wearing gloves when handling sick or dead animals.
What is the first symptom of tularemia?
Most cases of tularemia begin with rapid onset of nonspecific, flu-like symptoms including fever, chills, headaches, muscle pain (myalgia), joint pain (arthralgia), loss of appetite, and a general feeling of ill health (malaise). Additional symptoms may occur depending upon how a person is infected.
Do all rabbits have tularemia?
Natural distribution. Tularemia most often affects lagomorphs (rabbits and hares) and rodents; however, it has been reported as affecting more than 100 species of wild and domestic mammals. In North America, infections are most common in snowshoe hares, black-tailed jackrabbits, and eastern and desert cottontails.
What part of the body does tularemia affect?
Patients with orophyangeal tularemia may have sore throat, mouth ulcers, tonsillitis, and swelling of lymph glands in the neck. Pneumonic This is the most serious form of tularemia. Symptoms include cough, chest pain, and difficulty breathing. This form results from breathing dusts or aerosols containing the organism.
What happens if tularemia goes untreated?
Inhalation through the lungs is the most serious form of tularemia. If it’s left untreated, other forms of the disease may eventually reach the following areas of the body: lungs. spinal cord.
Can dogs get rabbit fever?
Tularemia, also known as ‘Rabbit Fever’ is a bacterial disease that occurs most often in rabbits, hares and rodents but can affect people as well as wild and domestic animals including dogs. The disease is caused by toxins in the blood which are produced by a bacteria called Francisella tularensis.
Can you get sick from touching a wild rabbit?
Tularemia is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. It affects both humans and animals, and is typically found in wild animals such as rabbits, muskrats, and beavers. It is also known as Rabbit Fever because hunters can get the disease from contact with infected rabbits.
Is tularemia killed by cooking?
Francisella tularensis is killed by heat, but not by freezing. Thorough cooking of rabbit and other game meat will render it safe for consumption, but placing raw meat in the freezer will maintain the organisms’ viability.
What disease is caused by rabbits?
Both the infected rabbit and human/s require treatment. Theoretically, salmonella, listeria and pseudotuberculosis can be passed from rabbits to humans, but the risk is vanishingly small and you are far more likely to catch these diseases via contaminated food.
Can rabbit diseases spread to humans?
The transmission of rabbit diseases to humans typically occurs in one of two ways. The most prevalent is through mites and ticks. These parasites feed on infected rabbits and then transmit bacteria to people via their bites. Although less common, rabbit diseases also spread by direct contact.
Is tularemia contagious from person to person?
Tularemia is not known to be spread from person to person. People who have tularemia do not need to be isolated. People who have been exposed to the tularemia bacteria should be treated as soon as possible. The disease can be fatal if it is not treated with the right antibiotics.
What is the mortality rate of tularemia?
Without treatment, 30 to 60 percent of people with this form of the disease may die. With treatment, the current death rate for tularemia in the U.S. is less than two percent.
Is tularemia the plague?
During research on the plague in endemic areas, tularemia was discovered and initially identified as a kind of plague called “pseudo-plague .” In 1911, the etiologic agent, initially named Bacterium tularense , was isolated from squirrels in the city of Tulare, California (USA).
Who is at greatest risk of contracting tularemia?
Those whose occupations put them into frequent contact with these animals, particularly wild animals, are at the greatest risk for contracting tularemia. How is tularemia spread? There are two common ways that humans can contract tularemia: From the bite of an infected tick, deerfly, or mosquito.
What is rabbit fever in medical terms?
Tularemia, also known as “rabbit fever,” is an illness caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis.