What is Rabbit Fever?

Rabbit fever, or tularemia, is a rare and potentially fatal disease caused by Francisella tularensis. It affects humans through contact with infected animals, bites, or contaminated water. Symptoms include fever, ulcers, and respiratory issues. Tularemia can be treated with antibiotics but lacks a vaccine in the U.S. Between 2011 and 2022, there’s been a 56 per cent increase in the annual average incidence of tularemia infections compared with previous years from 2001 to 2010.

Rabbit Fever-Details

• It is also commonly known as tularemia. It is a rare and sometimes fatal infectious disease that occurs in children in the age group of 5-9 years, older men and American Indians or Alaska Natives.
• It is caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis and can infect both animals and humans. The probability of the disease is in rabbits, hares, and rodents.
• Illness can be mild or severe, and high-grade fever is a common symptom in all types of illness.
• The signs and symptoms of tularemia can depend on how the bacteria enter the body.

Symptoms

Skin ulcers (seen after tick or deer fly bites), Eye irritation and inflammation, Difficulty breathing, Sore throat, mouth ulcers

Transmission:

• Humans can also become infected in a number of ways, including tick and deer bites and contact with infected animals such as rabbits, rodents and hares.
• Infection can also be spread by drinking contaminated water and inhaling contaminated aerosols or agricultural and landscaping dust and laboratory exposure.

Treatment:

• Vaccination against tularemia is not yet available in the US. It can be treated with antibiotics.