Tularemia in North Carolina

"Rabbit Fever" is a serious disease, despite the silly name.

tularemia may be used as a terrorism agent, as the various government websites seem delighted to tell us in gory detail:

[link to www.cfr.org]

Besides anthrax and smallpox, which biological agents are U.S. authorities most worried about?

The bacteria that cause plague and tularemia (the toxin which carries botulism), and hemorrhagic fever viruses (HFVs) such as Ebola and Marburg. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention think that these agents pose the greatest hazard to public heath, though they may not be the most likely choices for a terrorist attack.

It would need to be modified into an aerosolized form to be effective, however:

One of the world’s most contagious diseases. Also known as rabbit fever, it is caused by Francisella tularensis, a rare bacterium carried by small mammals including rabbits and squirrels. Humans typically contract the disease from contact with the tissues or body fluids of infected animals, or from the bites of infected insects. Tularemia cannot spread from person to person. Experts say that if tularemia bacteria were used as a weapon, it would probably be dispersed in an aerosol, thereby spreading an especially serious, inhaled form of the disease. Although tularemia is less lethal than some agents discussed here, death rates for those infected with the inhaled form can still climb as high as 30 to 60 percent if left untreated.

This sounds worse as I go along

[link to www.bt.cdc.gov]

Q. Why are we concerned about tularemia being used as a bioweapon?
A. Francisella tularensis is highly infectious. A small number of bacteria (10-50 organisms) can cause disease. If Francisella tularensis were used as a bioweapon, the bacteria would likely be made airborne so they could be inhaled. People who inhale the bacteria can experience severe respiratory illness, including life-threatening pneumonia and systemic infection, if they are not treated.

So, please, do not start putting rabbits through wood chippers. And srsly, be careful handling and cooking animals, and mowing and clearing brush.

Last Edited by zenobiaphobia on 02/22/2013 03:44 AM

Update:

[link to charlotte.cbslocal.com]

Officials with both the North Carolina Division of Public Health and the Wildlife Commission are urging hunters to be wary about rabbit fever after two hunters contracted it this month.

Their warning, reported by the Wilson Times, comes just before the end of rabbit hunting season on Feb. 28.

The disease, tularemia, is a rare and possibly fatal affliction that has already affected two members of a hunting party in the state recently – and has led to a confirmed 17 cases overall since 1999.