HEALTH - TULAREMIA
Tularemia is an uncommon disease in humans, with statistics showing less than one case per million people per year in the United States. This translates into 200 cases per year, almost half of which come from Arkansas, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Nebraska. Illness caused by ticks and insects is most common in the summer months and often occurs in children. Disease caused in winter is associated with hunters who handle dead animals. F. tularensis can infect many types of animals but particularly affects rabbits, hares, and rodents. The disease is sometimes called rabbit fever because it occurs when hunters contact the skin of infected rabbits. Farmers, veterinarians, foresters, landscape workers, and hunters are at risk of contracting tularemia because of their likely direct animal contact, but the disease can also affect others who inadvertently come into contact with animals or are bitten by insects. Tularemia is usually acquired directly by skinning, eating, or otherwise handling infected animals. In rare instances, transmission has occurred when wild rodents (prairie dogs) were sold as pets. Dried animal material may be aerosolized and inhaled, causing disease. Domestic animals such as cats may pick up the organism on their claws after killing a wild rodent or rabbit. Dogs and cats may also eat contaminated meat, causing fever and swollen nodes. Transmission of tularemia from dogs or cats to humans is rare. Finally, the disease has been transmitted by drinking water contaminated with animal products. Contaminated food and water have been responsible for large outbreaks in times of war. Tularemia does not spread from person to person.
Symptoms
Chills
Eye irritation
Fever
Headache
Joint stiffness
Muscle pains
Red spot on the skin, growing to become a sore (ulcer)
Shortness of breath
Sweating
Weight loss
TreatmentThe goal of treatment is to cure the infection with antibiotics. Streptomycin and tetracycline are commonly used to treat this infection. Once daily gentamicin treatment as been tried with excellent results as an alternative therapy to streptomycin. However, because this is a rare disease, only a few cases have been studied to-date. Tetracycline and chloramphenicol can be used alone, but they have a high relapse rate and are not considered a first-line treatment. Note: Oral tetracycline is usually not prescribed for children until after all their permanent teeth have come in. It can permanently discolor teeth that are still forming.
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