E. coli isn’t the only illness we need to worry about this year. A new disease is on the up and up, and it comes from an unlikely source: rabbits.
It’s called tularemia, and it’s a serious condition that’s spread through rabbits or tick bites. It’s even airborne. Like the bubonic plague, it takes on a different form in humans than in their hosts. Even worse though, tularemia can also manifest itself as dozens of different symptoms.
These symptoms can include pneumonic tularemia, which could resemble bronchitis; glandular tularemia, which could cause swelled or even ruptured lymph nodes; or typhoidal tularemia, which, as it sounds like, could include typhoid fever symptoms all over the body such as fever, muscle pain, or even sepsis.
And the number of cases really is on the rise—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that in Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska, there have been a total of 100 cases. The normal yearly tally is 20 cases in these four states.
Fifty-one of the patients could have been exposed via animal contact. 49 could have been exposed through inhaling aerolsolized particles. 39 could have gotten it through tick or deer fly bites. Of course, many could have gotten it through more than one avenue.
It’s treatable with antibiotic, but so far, there’s no vaccine. And it only seems focused on thie area, so if you’re not there, you are probably safe..
But if you are, always take precautions. “Residents and visitors to these areas should regularly use insect repellent, wear gloves when handling animals, and avoid mowing in areas where sick or dead animals have been reported,” says the CDC report.
Yikes! Think twice before you pet that bunny.
